Effect of doping rare earth Ce3+ on structural and magnetic properties of Ba2FeMoO6 double perovskite

Double perovskite oxides have attracted considerable research interest due to their transition temperatures are close to room temperature. In this study, Ba 2-x Ce x FeMoO 6 (x=0.0, 0.05, 0.075, and 0.1) double perovskite oxides, doped with the rare earth element Ce 3+ , were synthesized for the first time using the sol-gel technique. Rietveld refinement of the XRD patterns indicated a cubic structure with the space group Fm-3m for the samples, although a minor impurity peak was detected in the x= 0.1 sample. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated mixed valence states in the x = 0.05 and x = 0.075 samples. The magnetization decreased slightly at a partial doping level of x = 0.05 but increased at higher doping concentrations, reaching a maximum of 0.87μ B /f.u. Alternating current (AC) magnetic susceptibility measurements showed that, the Curie temperature T C exhibited a linear increase with increasing Ce 3+ ion doping. This enhancement is attributed to strengthened ferromagnetic interactions due to electron doping into the conduction band.