Magneto-transport and thermoelectric properties of La_0.8-xBi_xCa_0.2MnO₃ manganites

In the present work, we report the studies on the magneto-transport and thermoelectric properties of La_0.8-xBi_xCa_0.2MnO₃ (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10) manganites. The samples were prepared using the conventional solid state reaction method. Structural characterization has done using XRD. Rietveld refinement technique has confirmed the single phase formation of the samples with no impurity peaks observed within experimental limits. SEM micrograph confirms the formation of grains with good intimacy. The cell parameters and the unit cell volume is observed to decrease with increasing Bi concentration. It is attributed to the smaller ionic size of Bi compare to La. Magneto-resistance of the samples are measured using standard four probe technique. The Metal-Insulator transition (TMI) is found to decrease upon doping with overall increase in the resistivity. The observed effect is due to the fact that the Ca ions possibly increases the tendency of screening of 6s² orbital of Bi³⁺ ions. As orientation of the 6s² lone pair toward a surrounding anion (O^2-) produces a local distortion and as a result, the movement of eg electrons through the Mn-O-Mn bridges, is severely reduced. Resistance of the samples is observed to reduce on application of magnetic field of 8Tesla due to the fact that the magnetic field induces spin alignment and suppress the spin fluctuation resulting in large decrease in resistance. Thermopower measurement shows that all the samples are exhibiting the anomaly of phase transition from metal like behavior in low temperature to insulator like behavior at high temperature. As the temperature increases from 5K the pristine sample exhibit a small positive and nearly constant value of S till 172K. Then the value of S start to increase sharply and reaches a maximum value of ≈41μV/K at 234K and decreases rather sharply on further increase in temperature. The analysis of thermoelectric power data confirmed the validity of small polaron type conduction in the insulating regime. (author)