Rapid synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties of the non-stoichiometric oxynitride EuTaO1.75N1.25

Non-stoichiometric oxynitride with a composition of EuTaO1.75N1.25 was synthesized in <10 min through urea route combined with modified pressureless spark plasma sintering apparatus. The electronic properties of EuTaO1.75N1.25 was investigated by first-principles calculations. X-ray powder diffraction revealed that EuTaO1.75N1.25 crystallized with the cubic perovskite-type structure, S.G. Pm3¯m, and a lattice constant of a = 4.0283(7) Å. Thermogravimetric studies revealed that EuTaO1.75 N1.25 decomposed at around 345 under the oxygen atmosphere, giving a final product of decomposition as EuTaO4 and Eu5Ta4O15 oxides. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicated EuTaO1.75 N1.25's paramagnetic behavior with an estimated Tc=9.9 K. The saturation moment of 6.82 μB which is smaller than 7 μB expected for Eu2+ can be due to the existence of Eu3+. The extremely low value obtained for remanence and coercive field agrees to the isotropic character of the 8S7/2 ground state associated to the Eu2+.