Quantitative analyses of oxidation states for cubic SrMnO3 and orthorhombic SrMnO2.5 with electron energy loss spectroscopy

The oxidation state of Mn in cubic SrMnO3 and orthorhombic SrMnO2.5 was investigated by electron energy loss (EEL) spectroscopy. Change in the oxidation state of Mn produced some spectral changes in the O-K edge as well as in the Mn-L2,3 edge EEL spectra. This study demonstrated that the oxidation state of Mn and the amount of oxygen vacancies in cubic SrMnO3 and orthorhombic SrMnO2.5 could be quantified by analyzing the features of the O-K edge spectrum and the Mn L3/L2 ratio in the Mn-L2,3 edge spectrum. Our quantitative analysis showed that the spectral changes in the Mn-L2,3 edge were mainly caused by the oxidation state of Mn, whereas those in the O-K edge could be sensitive to both the oxidation state of Mn and to lattice distortions.