Structural, magnetic and electronic properties of LaNi0.5Fe0.5O3 in the temperature range 5–1000 K

The structure, magnetism, transport and thermal expansion of the perovskite oxide LaNi0.5Fe0.5O3 were studied over a wide range of temperatures. Neutron time-of-flight data have shown that this compound undergoes a first-order phase transition between ∼275 and ∼310 K. The structure transforms from orthorhombic (Pbnm) at low temperatures to rhombohedral (R3¯c) above room temperature. This phase transition is the cause for the previously observed co-existence of phases at room temperature. The main structural modification associated with the phase transition is the change of tilting pattern of the octahedra from a+b−b− at low temperatures to a−a−a− at higher. Magnetic data strongly suggests that a spin-glass magnetic state exists in the sample below 83 K consistent with the absence of magnetic ordering peaks in the neutron data collected at 30 K. At high temperatures the sample behaves as a small polaron electronic conductor with two regions of slightly different activation energies of 0.07 and 0.05 eV above and below 553 K, respectively. The dilatometric data show an average thermal expansion coefficient of 14.7×10−6 K−1 which makes this material compatible with frequently used electrolytes in solid oxide fuel cells.