Effects of Doping on the Structural Distortion of $La_{0.7}Dy_{0.3}Mn_{1-x}Zn_xO_3$

Structural properties were studied in the orthorhombic perovskite $La_{0.7}Dy_{0.3}Mn_{1-x}Zn_{x}O_3$, synthesized in the range 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4. X-ray diffraction data, refined by the Rietveld analysis, shows for x < 0.1 the presence of stretched octahedra on the Mn-O plane, and, for x > 0.1, the existence of elongated octahedra along the c axis. Increased Zn doping causes a direct structural effect: one Zn atom distorts four neighboring MnO₆ octahedra on the Mn-O plane. It was observed that the unit cell volume containing Dy decreases as x increases, whereas the unit cell volume containing La increases as x decreases.