Raman spectroscopy of (Fe,Li)-doped delafossite oxide CuCrO2

In this paper we investigated the vibrational properties of (Fe,Li)-doped delafossite oxide CuCrO2 by means of Raman experiments. The measurements were carried out at ambient temperature and pressure and on ab- and a(b)c-plane of a single grain. The samples were prepared using self-combustion urea nitrate process and the structure of all samples was checked using X-ray diffraction. All peaks were indexed as arising from CuCrO2 delafossite with space group R-3 m. Active phonon modes with A1g and Eg symmetries were identified as well as the presence of one additional line that could not be associated with inhomogeneities at microscopic level. The frequencies of the A1g and Eg modes were also observed to be independent upon Fe and Li doping, but not the corresponding scattering intensities.