Neutron scattering studies of phase segregation in Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3

By using high-resolution time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction, we have investigated phase segregation in the narrow-bandwidth manganite Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3. Unexpectedly, our data clearly demonstrate that phase segregation in Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 is unrelated to electronic phase segregation, but is primarily driven by chemical disorder and intra-granular strains, similar to martensitic phase transitions. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.