Abstract
The substitution of divalent cations of alkaline-earth elements in nanodimensional structures of rare-earth manganites produces advanced materials with potential electrical and magnetic functionalities. A systematic investigation of La(0.65)A(0.35)MnO(3) (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) materials synthesized with a modified citrate route adopting ethanol dehydration has been undertaken. The structural and morphological analyses are carried out by using x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Resistivity measurements are performed in variation with temperature to study the electrical transport properties which are found to vary with the size of the A-site cationic radius. Room temperature magnetic measurements are carried out to investigate the type of magnetic phase present in materials. The stability of the magnetic phase and coercivity are found to be dependent on the size of nanocrystallites.