Abstract
This work describes the scandium doping effect on the structural and magnetic properties of delafossite-type oxides CuCr
1−
x
Sc
x
O
2
. The lattice parameters were found to vary according to Vegard’s low. A reflection broadening is observed that is ascribed to local lattice distortion due to the ionic radius difference between Fe
3+
and Sc
3+
. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show that the dominant interactions are antiferromagnetic (AFM) but that doping induces significant changes. A rather monotonous
T
N2
decrease as
x
increases, from
T
N2
= 9.1 K down to
T
N2
= 5.9 K for
x
= 0.00 to 0.25, respectively, but
T
N1
remains almost unchanged. The Sc substitution (S = 0) at the Fe sites (S = 5/2) tend to suppress the low ferromagnetic interactions in the magnetic structure; however, the magnetic exchange coupling
J
BB
decreases under 5.0 meV with increasing
x
. The electric polarization decreases with
x
up to 63
μ
C/m
2
for 5 %-Sc to 22
μ
C/m
2
for 25 %-Sc.