Crystallographic, Magnetic, and Electrical Properties of SrTi 1- xRu xO 3 Perovskite Solid Solutions

The perovskite compounds SrTiO ₃ (semiconductor, cubic, and diamagnetic) and SrRuO ₃ (metallic conductor, orthorhombic, and ferromagnetic) form a continuous series of solid solutions of the formula SrTi _{1- x}Ru _xO ₃. Increasing substitution of titanium by ruthenium led to a change in the crystallographic, magnetic, and electrical properties. As x increased the latter properties changed from semiconductor to metallic at x values between 0.40 and 0.50. A change from cubic to orthorhombic structure was also observed in the same compositional range as the Ru content increased. The compounds with x = 1.00, 0.80, 0.50, and 0.33 obeyed the Curie-Weiss law, with the Weiss constant (θ) and Curie constant (Cm) decreasing as x decreased.