Spin–phonon coupling and antisite disorder in ferrimagnetic double perovskite Ca2CrRuO6

Abstract

In this study, we report the successful synthesis of a novel double perovskite Ca₂CrRuO₆ via the sol–gel procedure. The X-ray diffraction data confirmed the compound's monoclinic P2₁/n structure with partial antisite disorder (∼20%) between Cr and Ru cations, corroborated by Rietveld refinement. Raman spectroscopy identified distinct vibrational modes, with prominent peaks at ∼874 cm⁻¹ and 898 cm⁻¹, further supporting long-range B-site ordering. Magnetization measurements revealed ferrimagnetic ordering at ∼195 K arising due to the Cr³⁺–O²⁻–Ru⁵⁺ interaction, with a compensation temperature (T_comp) of ∼180 K. Hysteresis loops at 5 K and 300 K show ferrimagnetic behavior with the net magnetic moment of 0.099μ_B/f.u close to the theoretically predicted value. Our findings demonstrate a subtle interplay between antisite disorder and magnetic interactions in Ca₂CrRuO₆, where B-site cation distribution affects structural, electrical, and magnetic properties.