Magnetic Properties of the La<sub>0.50</sub>Ba<sub>0.50</sub>MnO<sub>3</sub> Nanomanganites

Nanocrystalline La0.50Ba0.50MnO3 manganite was synthesized by an optimized sol-gel method. The initial sample was subjected to step-by-step heat treatment under air atmosphere. The ion stoichiometry, the morphology of crystallites of ceramics, and the magnetic properties were studied. It is established that the average crystallite size increases with increasing annealing temperature. All of the samples studied are characterized by a perovskite-like cubic structure, with the unit cell parameter a increasing continuously with the average crystallite size. The most significant lattice compression occurs in the sample with an average crystallite size of ~ 30 nm. The increase in the average crystallite size causes a nonmonotonic increase in the Curie temperature and in the spontaneous magnetic moment. The anomalous behavior of the magnetic properties of the La0.50Ba0.50MnO3 manganites obtained is explained by the competition between two size effects, namely, the frustration of the indirect exchange interactions Mn3+ – O – Mn4+ on the nanocrystallite surface and the crystal lattice compression due to the crystallite surface tension.