Valence measurement of Mn oxides using Mn Kβ emission spectroscopy Original Research Article

High resolution Mn Kβ emission spectra provide a direct method to probe the effective spin state and charge density on Mn sites. Direct comparison of MnF2 and MnO reveals significant changes due to the degree of covalency. The detailed shape and energy shift of the spectra for the perovskite LaMnO3 and CaMnO3 compounds are found to be very similar to Mn2O3 and MnO2, respectively. Detailed Mn Kβ X-ray emission results on La1−xCaxMnO3 can be well fit by linear superpositions of the end member spectra. However, for x<0.3, a retarded response is found. No evidence for Mn2+ is found.