Crystallographic and magnetic properties of CaLaMnMoO6 double perovskite

Powder neutron diffraction studies show that CaLaMnMoO6 double perovskite crystallizes in monoclinic P21/n, with image, image, image and image. Mn and Mo occupy the 2c and 2d positions, respectively, with 6.0(4)% Mn/Mo anti-site mixing. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that CaLaMnMoO6 is ferrimagnetic, with TN=92(3) K, below which large magnetic frustration is detected. The zero-field magnetic moment measured at 5 K is about 1.2 μB, comparable to that of ALaMnMoO6 (A=Ba and Sr), but much lower than expected for antiparallel ordering of formally Mn2+ (d5) and Mo5+ (d1). Moreover, no long-range magnetic ordering is observed in neutron diffraction data down to 4 K. The magnetic frustration is discussed in the framework of nearest-neighbors next-nearest-neighbors magnetic frustration.