Relation between Structure and Magnetic Properties of Microstructured $PrAlO_3$

The magnetic properties of both the praseodymium-aluminium perovskite $PrAlO_3$ crystal and its microstructured version in the form of a $PrAlO_3-PrAl_{11}O_{18}$ eutectic have been investigated. It is shown that R\overline{3}c → Imma 205 K first-order and Imma → C 2/m near 150 K second-order phase transitions in a $PrAlO_3$ single crystal are suppressed after structuring the material and embedding it in a $PrAl_{11}O_{18}$ matrix. This behavior is related to the $PrAl_{11}O_{18}$ matrix, which mechanically hinders expansion of the microrods and in this way suppresses the phase transitions.