Structure and magnetic interactions in the solid solution Ba3−xSrxCr2O8

•We describe for the first time the preparation of single- and polycrystalline members of the solid solution Ba3−xSrxCr2O8.•We report on the structural changes in the solid solution at room temperature depending on the stoichiometry.•We describe the peculiar change of the magnetic behavior in the solid solution with the stoichiometry.

Solid solutions of the magnetic insulators Ba3Cr2O8 and Sr3Cr2O8 (Ba3−xSrxCr2O8) have been prepared in polycrystalline form for the first time. Single crystalline material was obtained using a mirror image floating zone technique. X-ray diffraction data taken at room temperature indicate that the space group of Ba3−xSrxCr2O8 remains unchanged for all values of x, while the cell parameters depend on the chemical composition, as expected. Magnetization data, measured from 300 K down to 2 K, suggest that the interaction constant Jd within the Cr5+ dimers varies in a peculiar way as a function of x, starting at Jd = 25 K for x = 0, then first slightly dropping to Jd = 18 K for x ≈ 0.75, before reaching Jd = 62 K for x = 3.

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