Synthesis and crystal structure studies of NdCrTiO5

NdCrTiO5 is a magnetic oxide which exhibits a wide variety of properties, including magnetoelectric coupling and multiferroic behavior, which have potential use in magnetoresistive random-access memory and other energy-based applications. Below its magnetic ordering temperature, the orthorhombic crystal structure changes from non-polar space group Pbam (No. 55) to polar Pba21 (No. 32). The goal of this work is to first synthesize the parent compound NdCrTiO5 and then attempt to introduce other 4d/5d magnetic ions in the crystal structure to achieve polar crystal structure and magnetic ordering at a higher temperature. NdCrTiO5 was synthesized by grinding stoichiometric quantities of Nd2O3, Cr2O3, and TiO2, pressing them into a pellet, and heating at a high temperature. Powder X-ray diffraction pattern indicated that the prepared sample contains the main phase NdCrTiO5 (> 90%). Energy dispersive X-ray confirmed the chemical composition.