Structure, electronic structure, optical and magnetic studies of double perovskite Gd2MnFeO6 nanoparticles: First principle and experimental studies

Abstract

Multifunctional materials are greatly appealed in electrical, electronic and magnetic devices which are developed by several researchers for future device fabrications. Among such materials, the double perovskites with rare earth metals are actively studied. In this work, we synthesized the double perovskite Gd2MnFeO6 nanoparticles through a simple sol-gel process and studied the crystal structure, morphology, optical, electronic structure and magnetic characteristics. The orthorhombic crystal type with the Pbnm space group of the double perovskite Gd2MnFeO6 nanoparticles was confirmed using X-ray diffraction analysis. String-of-beads like a continuous network morphology were observed by scanning electron microscopy. The divergence in the spin-polarized electronic structures such as the density of states and band structure indicates the presence of magnetic properties in the compound. The nanoparticles show paramagnetic nature at room temperature and complex magnetic nature below room temperature.