Hydrothermal synthesis and magnetic properties of $ErCrO4$ nanoparticles

Homogeneous single phase $ErCrO4$ nanoparticles have been synthesized by a modified sol-gel followed by hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction reveals that the compound crystallizes into tetragonal structure with space group I41/amd. The average crystallite size was estimated to be 21(1) nm. Morphological analysis of the sample confirms uniform particles of size 20 nm. DC magnetic measurements show that $ErCrO4$ undergoes a paramagneticantiferromagnetic transition at 16 K, due to the superexchange Er-O-Cr-O-Er antiferromagnetic interactions.