Crystal structure and mixed ionic–electronic conductivity of La1−xCaxMnO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) produced by mechanosynthesis

The aim of this work was to study the relationship between the crystalline structure, the mixed ionic–electronic conductivity and the calcium content in calcium-doped lanthanum manganites (CLM, La1−xCaxMnO3) synthesized by reactive ball milling. Mechanosynthesis was employed to produce nanocrystalline CLM with varying calcium content (x = 0–0.8 in increments of 0.1). Powders of Mn2O3, La2O3 and CaO mixed in the stoichiometric ratio were used as raw materials. The mechanosynthesis was carried out using a high-energy shaker mixer/mill. X-ray powder diffraction and Rietveld refinement were used to determine the crystalline structure as a function of calcium content. The four-point probe resistivity test was used to measure the electrical resistivity of the compacted and sintered powders using a DC milli-ohm meter. The results showed that the substitution of the La3+ ion by the Ca2+ ion during mechanosynthesis only changed the lattice parameters but not the orthorhombic Pnma structure. The mixed ionic–electronic conductivity increased with the Ca2+ content. The best conductivity was observed for the composition of La0.2Ca0.8MnO3.