Abstract
The structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of the double perovskite Ba2LuReO6 have been examined. It is an insulator whose temperature dependent conductivity is consistent with variable range hopping electrical transport. A transition to an antiferromagnet state with type I order occurs below TN = 31 K. High resolution time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction measurements show that it retains the cubic double perovskite structure down to 10 K. High intensity, low resolution neutron powder diffraction measurements confirm the antiferromagnetic order and indicate that cubic symmetry is still observed at 1.5 K. The small ordered moment of 0.34(4)μB per Re is comparable to estimates of moments on 5d2 ions in other antiferromagnetically ordered cubic double perovskites. Comparisons with related double perovskites containing 5d2 ions, such as Os6+ and Re5+, reveal that subtle changes in structure or electron configuration of the diamagnetic octahedral cations can have a large impact on the magnetic ground state, the size of the ordered moment, and the Néel temperature.
