Low temperature magnetic behavior and thermal expansion anomaly of cubic CeTiO3

Abstract

Lanthanum-based LnBO₃ perovskite oxides have demonstrated fascinating magnetic properties and spin–lattice coupling. In this work, we report an unusual thermal expansion anomaly coupled with the magnetic ordering in the cubic CeTiO₃ with the vacancy of Ce ions. The magnetic behaviors and lattice thermal expansion at low temperature were systematically investigated using the temperature dependence of the magnetization measurements and low temperature X-ray powder diffraction. It is clearly revealed that there are two magnetic transitions in the cubic CeTiO₃ from 5 to 350 K: one is a magnetic ordering–disordering transition at 300 K and the other one might be a change of the magnetic component near 32 K. Both the magnetization and hysteresis change correspondingly upon cooling. Intriguingly, a lattice thermal expansion anomaly is found below the magnetic ordering temperature, which indicates a strong coupling of spin and lattice, i.e., a magnetovolume effect (MVE). Our findings provide the possibility of adjusting thermal expansion behavior and magnetic properties by introducing a vacancy of Ln atoms in lanthanum-based perovskite oxides.