Orbital ordering as the determinant for ferromagnetism in biferroic BiMnO3 -: art. no. 064425

The ferromagnetic structure of BiMnO3, T-c=105 K, has been determined from powder neutron-diffraction data collected at 20 K on a sample synthesized at high pressures using a cubic anvil press. BiMnO3 is a distorted perovskite that crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2 with unit-cell parameters a=9.5317(7) Angstrom, b=5.6047(4) Angstrom, c=9.8492(7) Angstrom, and ss=110.60(1)degrees (Rp=6.78%, wRp=8.53%, reduced chi(2)=1.107). Data analysis reveals a collinear ferromagnetic structure with the spin direction along [010] and a magnetic moment of 3.2muB. There is no crystallographic phase transition on cooling the polar room-temperature structure to 20 K, lending support to the belief that ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity coexist in BiMnO3. Careful examination of the six unique Mn-O-Mn superexchange pathways between the three crystallographically independent Mn3+ sites shows that four are ferromagnetic and two are antiferromagnetic, thereby confirming that the ferromagnetism of BiMnO3 stems directly from orbital ordering.