Direct measurement of the low-temperature spin-state transition in LaCoO3

LaCoO3 exhibits an anomaly in its magnetic susceptibility around 80 K associated with a thermally excited transition of the Co3+-ion spin. We show that electron energy-loss spectroscopy is sensitive to this Co3+-ion spin-state transition, and that the O K edge prepeak provides a direct measure of the Co3+ spin state in LaCoO3 as a function of temperature. Our experimental results are confirmed by first-principles calculations, and we conclude that the thermally excited spin-state transition occurs from a low to an intermediate spin state, which can be distinguished from the high-spin state.