Mechanosynthesis of the multiferroic cubic spinel Co₂MnO₄: Influence of the calcination temperature

Abstract: Multiferroic materials showing magnetoelectric coupling are required in various technological applications. Many synthetical approaches can be used to improve the magnetic and/or electrical properties, in particular when the materials exhibit cationic valence fluctuations, as in the Co₂MnO₄ cubic spinel. In this compound, Co and Mn ions are in competition at the tetrahedral and octahedral positions, depending on their various oxidation states. The Co₂MnO₄ was prepared following two techniques: by a soft chemical route based on a modified polymer precursor method, and by a mechanoactivation route. Both approaches yield polycrystalline powders, but their crystallites sizes and particles morphologies differ as a function of the calcination conditions. The magnetic characterization (ZFC/FC cycles, ordering temperatures, ferromagnetic coercive fields and saturation magnetizations) showed that the synthesis procedure influenced the physical properties of Co₂MnO₄ mainly through the size of the magnetic domains, which play an important role on the magnetic interactions between the Co/Mn cations.