Single phase La(1-x)Sr(x)MnO3 nanoparticles (x = 0.18-0.37) are prepared by a novel way in molten NaNO2 at 500 °C. Their rhombohedral perovskite structure is confirmed by XRD patterns and exact chemical composition is determined by XRF spectroscopy.
The mean size of the as-prepared crystallites is of about 50 nm, the grains are rather separated and do not form sintering bridges, that were typical for products synthesized by sol-gel routes followed by annealing. On the other hand, the synthesized nanoparticles exhibit rather low magnetization and decreased Curie temperature.
Their neutron diffraction study indicates a complex magnetic ordering together with anomalously high atomic displacements factors that decreased considerably after annealing the samples at elevated temperature.