Double-exchange mechanism

The double-exchange mechanism is a type of a magnetic exchange that may arise between ions in different oxidation states. First proposed by Clarence Zener, this theory predicts the relative ease with which an electron may be exchanged between two species and has important implications for whether materials are ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, or neither. For example, consider the 180 degree interaction of Mn-O-Mn in which the Mn "e_g" orbitals are directly interacting with the O "2p" orbitals, and one of the Mn ions has more electrons than the other. In the ground state, electrons on each Mn ion are aligned according to the Hund's rule: