Magnetic and transport properties of high-pressure synthesized perovskite cobalt oxide (Sr1–xCax)CoO3 (0⩽x⩽0.8)

Polycrystalline perovskite cobalt oxides (Sr1–xCax)CoO3 (0⩽x⩽0.8) were synthesized under high pressure (6 GPa) and high temperature (1200–1300  °C) conditions. Powder X-ray diffraction data confirmed that they have cubic perovskite structures. The end member of the solid solution, SrCoO3, exhibited a ferromagnetic transition with Curie temperature of Tc∼266K and metallic electric conductivity. With increasing the Ca content xx, TcTc increased slightly to 286 K at x=0.2x=0.2 then decreased rapidly to 148 K for x=0.8x=0.8. The origin of the ferromagnetism is discussed in relation to the spin state of the Co4+ ions. The present system showed a relatively large (∼5.5%) negative magnetoresistance for x=0x=0 or 0.2 in the vicinity of Tc.

Graphical abstractTemperature dependence of the dc-magnetization M of the (Sr1–xCax)CoO3 system measured at an applied field of 1 kOe by the field cooling mode.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide