Cu_3RE_2W_4O_{18} tungstates (RE = Gd, Dy-Er) are paramagnets in the temperature range 4.2-300 K visible also in the absence of the energy losses in the curve of the imaginary part of magnetic susceptibility, χ". The negative values of the paramagnetic Curie-Weiss temperature, θ, may suggest the weak antiferromagnetic coupling below 4.2 K. The temperature independent component of magnetic susceptibility has a positive value indicating a domination of the Van Vleck contribution. Calculations of the effective number of the Bohr magnetons revealed that the orbital contribution to the magnetic moment comes mainly from the RE^{3+} ions.
The magnetization isotherms were used to study the superparamagnetic-like behaviour in polycrystalline (powder) RE_2WO_6 tungstates (where RE = Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho and Er). The magnetization isotherms of the majority tungstates under study revealed both the spontaneous magnetic moments and hysteresis characteristic for the superparamagnetic-like behaviour with blocking temperature T_{B} ≈ 30 K except the Sm_2WO_6 and Eu_2WO_6 compounds.
The values of the direct allowed energy gap determined from the UV-vis-NIR measurements and Kubelka-Munk transformation decrease from 3.38 via 2.70 to 2.42 eV for MPr₂W₂O₁₀ in the sequence M = Cd, Co, Mn, while the values of the activation energy increase from 0.11 via 0.44 to 0.47 eV in the same sequence. In other words, the higher the activation energy, the smaller the energy gap. Because the energy gap is typical for insulators, so electron transport phenomena are considered under the Poole-Frenkel effect and small-polaron mechanism.
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