Ferromagnetic nanospheres of perovskite manganite La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 prepared by template replication in porous carbon framework

Abstract

Nanospheres of perovskite manganite La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 (LCMO) were prepared using porous carbon replica as a template. Close-packed arrays of silica spheres were infiltrated with a sucrose solution, which was then carbonized. After removal of the silica template, pores in the replica were filled with metal acetate precursors. The filled replica was sintered at 800 °C. The resulting hollow LCMO nanospheres were characterized by magnetization, electrical transport, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope measurements. The magnetization data of LCMO show a ferromagnetic transition near 250 K.