Powder processing, crystalline structure, sintering, and electrical properties of NdM0.5Mn0.5O3 (M = Ni, Co, Cu) manganites

Perovskite single-phase NdMe0.5Mn0.5O3 (Me = Co, Ni, Cu) powders were achieved at low-temperature (600–700 °C) by using the ethylene glycol–metal nitrate polymerized complex method. The structure of the perovskite system was investigated, and an orthorhombic structure O′-type was found for the Co-, Ni-, and Cu-containing perovskite materials. Replacement of Cu, Co, and Ni onto B-sites of the NdMnO3 perovskite structure improve densification of pure manganite up to about 99% of theoretical at temperatures as low as 960 °C in the particular case of the NdCu0.5Mn0.5O3 samples. The sintering enhancement of Cu-, Co- and Ni-containing perovskite materials is explained, assuming the no evidence for a low-temperature eutectic-liquid, as due to a change in the mechanism of the early stages of the densification process.