We present a combined experimental and computational study of the effect of charge
doping in the osmium based double perovskite
Ba
2
Na
1–
x
Ca
x
OsO
6
for 0 ≤
x
≤ 1 in order to provide a structural and
electronic basis for understanding this complex Dirac–Mott insulator material.
Specifically, we investigate the effects of the substitution of monovalent Na with
divalent Ca, a form of charge doping or alloying that nominally tunes the system from
Os
7+
with a 5d
1
configuration to Os
6+
with
5d
2
configuration. After an X-ray diffraction characterization, the local
atomic and electronic structure has been experimentally probed by X-ray absorption fine
structure at all the cation absorption edges at room temperature; the simulations have
been performed using ab initio density functional methods. We find that the substitution
of Na by Ca induces a linear volume expansion of the crystal structure which indicates
an effective alloying due to the substitution process in the whole doping range. The
local structure corresponds to the expected double perovskite one with rock-salt
arrangement of Na/Ca in the B site and Os in the B′ one for all the compositions.
X-ray absorption near edge structure measurements show a smooth decrease of the
oxidation state of Os from 7+ (5d
1
) to 6+ (5d
2
) with increasing Ca
concentration, while the oxidation states of Ba, Na, and Ca are constant. This indicates
that the substitution of Na by Ca gives rise to an effective electron transfer from the
B to the B′ site. The comparison between X-ray absorption measurements and ab
initio simulations reveals that the expansion of the Os–O bond length induces a
reduction of the crystal field splitting of unoccupied Os derived d states.