Structural Chemistry and Magnetic Properties of the Hexagonal Double Perovskite Ba2CoOsO6

Abstract

The double perovskite Ba2CoOsO6, synthesized using solid-state methods at ambient pressure, is shown as a rare example of an oxide adopting the 6L-trigonal (S.G.: P3̅m1) perovskite structure. The structure, refined using a combination of X-ray and neutron diffraction data, showed the Co and Os were ordered over the two dimer sites with additional ordering over the corner-sharing sites. Bond valence calculations show the presence of the Co(II) and Os(VI) valence states, and the latter was confirmed using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Bulk magnetic susceptibility measurements show Ba2CoOsO6 to undergo antiferromagnetic ordering near 100 K, and neutron diffraction showed an ordered moment on the Co3, Co4, and Os2 sites; whereas the Os1/Co1 remained disordered.