A comparative study for two different series, La0.67Ca0.33Mn1-xCrxO3 and La0.67＋xCa0.33-x Mn1-xCrxO3 is performed with x changing from 0.04 to 0.08 through measurements of zero-field resistivity （p）, magnetoresistance （MR） and ac susceptibility （Z） as functions of temperature （T）. For the second group, a single insulator-metal transition was characterized by the resistivity maximum appears in p vs. T curve. For the first group, besides the resistivity peak appearing at higher temperatures, the sample shows evidence for the existence of another peak appearing at lower temperatures. Compared to the first group, the second group shows a significant enhancement in MR effect, while the measurement ofΧ-T dependence does not display obvious differences for the two series. Different behaviors observed in the two series are discussed by considering possible exchange interaction between Mn^3- ion and Cr^3- ion.
Samples with nominal composition of （1 - x）La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 （LCMO）/xCuO （x = 0%, 2%, 4% and 20% ） were made using a special experimental method. The temperature dependence of the resistivity （ρ） of the composites was investigated in the temperature range of 10 - 300 K and different magnetic fields of H = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0 and 3.0 T. The results showed that CuO percentage x had important effects on metal-insulator transition temperature （Tp）, zero field peak resistivity （ρmax）, and magnetoresistance （MR） properties of the composites. Tp shifted sharply towards low temperature with the increase of x in the range of x ≤4%, but was almost independent of x at high level of CuO content. Composites with x = 4 % and 20 % exhibited similar electrical transmission behavior. Compared with pure LCMO, enhanced magnetoresistance could be clearly observed even in a quite low magnetic field of 0.3 T. For x =4% and 20% samples, the MR value at 0.3 T could reach as high as - 88% and - 90%, respectively. XRD and SEM analysis showed that the substantial enhancement of MR, especially near Tp, was because of local spin disorder between contiguous LCMO ferromagnetic particles caused by the addition of CuO.
Magnetic and electrical transport properties of the La0.67Ca0.33Mn1-xO3 （x=0-0.16）, which were prepared by the sol-gel method followed by sintering treatment at 1 450, 1 100 and 900 ℃, respectively, were investigated. Experimental results show that, with the increase of x, the resistivity of samples increases and the insulator-metal transition temperature shifts towards lower temperature. Meanwhile, the intrinsic megnetoresistance effect is weakened and the extrinsic magnetoresistance is enhanced. For the samples with x=0.16 and 0.10 sintered at 1 100 ℃ and 900 ℃, respectively, low field magnetoresistance as high as about 50% can be observed. Furthermore, for the samples sintered at 1 100 ℃ and 900 ℃, the grain size is not only controlled by about sintering temperature, but also by the absence of Mn content x.
