COMMITTEE CHAIR: Dr. Gururaj Neelgund
TITLE: SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE STRUCTURAL AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF NEODYMIUM AND SAMARIUM MOLYBDATES
ABSTRACT: Centrosymmetric oxides, characterized by an inversion symmetry and ordered atomic arrangements, exhibit diverse structural, magnetic, and electronic properties that make them promising for spintronic, magnetoelectric, and quantum technologies. In this work, phase-pure Nd2MoO6 and Sm2MoO6 were synthesized using conventional high-temperature solid-state reactions at 1100 °C and 750 °C, respectively, and characterized using XRD, SEM/EDS, XPS, and magnetic measurements. Rietveld refinement confirmed tetragonal (I41/acd) and monoclinic (C12/c1) structures for Nd2MoO6 and Sm2MoO6, respectively. SEM/EDS revealed homogeneous grains for Nd2MoO6 and heterogeneous morphology for Sm2MoO6 with correct stoichiometry, while XPS established Nd³? and Sm³? as stable oxidation states. Magnetic measurements indicated paramagnetism at high temperatures and antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperatures (2 K-10 K), with Curie-Weiss temperatures and effective magnetic moments of -57.10 K, 12.2952 µB (Nd2MoO6) and –761.12 K, 2.6867 µB (Sm2MoO6). These findings confirmed that both compounds are structurally and magnetically robust centrosymmetric rare-earth molybdates with magnetism dominated by rare-earth sublattice interactions, underscoring their potential for multifunctional and spin-based applications.
Keywords: Centrosymmetric oxides, Nd2MoO6, Sm2MoO6, XRD, SEM
Room Location: E.E. O’Banion Science Building, Room 203