Structure of the mixed oxides La 0.6 Pb 0.4 Mn 1-y Ti y O 3z (0 y 0.4) via Rietveld refinements G. Nalini, M. Sahana, M.S. Hegde, T.N. Guru Row* Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India (Refereed) Received 3 May 2000; accepted 22 May 2000 Abstract The crystal structure of several compositions in the system La 0.6 Pb 0.4 Mn 1-y Ti y O 3 (0 y 0.4) have been investigated by powder X-ray diffraction using the Rietveld refinement technique. The solid solutions of compositions y = 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 crystallize in the rhombohedral structure (space group R3 c), while for the composition corresponding to y = 0.4, the crystal structure transforms from rhombohedral to orthorhombic system (space group Imma). Profile refinements on all these compo- sitions reveal that the MnO 6 octahedra are distorted and rotated from their ideal positions. The doping at the B-site results in the formation of the orthorhombic phase Imma at room temperature. The structural implications on the magnetic properties also correlate with previous observations. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: A. Oxides; B. Chemical synthesis; C. X-ray diffraction; D. Crystal structure 1. Introduction A large number of perovskite systems belonging to La (1-x) A x Mn (1-y) B y O 3 have been a subject of interest due to their wide-ranging physical properties. Various perovskites com- pounds in these series where the A- and the B-sites are occupied by two cation species have been synthesized and their crystal structures have been determined. The crystallographic and magnetic structures of the series of perovskite type compounds La 1-x Ba x Mn 1-y Ti y O 3 have been determined by neutron powder diffraction [1]. These * Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-80-309-2796; fax: +91-80-360-1310. E-mail address: ssctng@sscu.iisc.ernet.in (T.N. Guru Row). Pergamon Materials Research Bulletin 36 (2001) 307–314 0025-5408/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0025-5408(00)00474-8