Journal of Electronic Materials, vol.47, no.3, pp.2050-2056, 2018 (SCI-Expanded)
The effects of Y and Pr substitution on the electronic and crystal structure of triclinic SmBO3 have been investigated using x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and x-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy. Polycrystalline structure was observed on substitution of Y3+ and Pr4+ ions with Sm3+ coordination. Yttrium-substituted samples were found to contain BO3 ligands around Sm atoms, while the crystal structure of YBO3 presented hexagonal geometry, not preserving the triclinic crystal structure. Also, praseodymium ions (Pr4+) formed isolated Pr2B5 crystal structure by distorting some BO3 ligands. Moreover, electronic structure studies revealed that 4f levels of Sm and Pr were inactive in bonding interaction and did not support strong coupling between neighboring Sm and Y/Pr atoms.