The crystal and magnetic structures of Ca2YRuO6 and the electronic properties of the series M2+2X3+Ru5+O6 (M = Ca,Sr, Ba; X = La,Y)

Profile analysis of constant-wavelength powder neutron diffraction data has been used to refine the crystal structure of the ordered perovskite Ca₂YRuO₆. The material is monoclinic (space group $\text{P2}{}_1\text{n}$) with a disordered arrangement of calcium and yttrium on the A site and one of the B sites, such that the formula is best written as Ca_1.43Y_0.57[(Ca_0.57Y_0.43)Ru]O₆. Low-temperature neutron diffraction experiments showed that the material is a Type I antiferromagnet at 2.5 K with an ordered magnetic moment of 1.2(1)μ_B per Ru⁵⁺. It is suggested that the dominant factor in determining the electronic properties of the series M²⁺₂X³⁺Ru⁵⁺O₆ (M = Ca, Sr, Ba; X = La, Y) is the Ru-Ru separation distance.