Effect of Sintering Temperature on Current-Voltage Characteristics of Nanostructured Manganites

Abstract

In the present communication, nanostructured Y_0.95Ca_0.05MnO₃ manganites using low cost sol-gel method have been synthesized. Samples were sintered at different temperatures in order to change the particle size of the samples. The crystallite size is found to increase with sintering temperature due to crystal agglomeration effect. To understand the transport properties of the presently studied samples, current-voltage (I-V) characteristics have been carried out at room temperature. Effect of crystallite size on the transport has been discussed in detail. The variation in conduction and transport mechanism with sintering temperature has been discussed in the context of oxygen non-stoichiometry and crystallite boundary density.

Keywords: I-V characteristics, manganites, sintering temperature