The nanoscopic magnetoelectronic phase separation in doped La 1−x Sr x CoO 3 perovskites was studied with local probes. The phase separation is directly observed by Mössbauer spectroscopy in the studied doping range of 0.05 x 0.25 both at room temperature and in the low-temperature magnetic phase. Extended with current synchrotron-based x-ray spectroscopies, these data help to characterize the volume as well as the local electric and magnetic properties of the distinct phases. A simple model

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... ed on a random distribution of the doping Sr ions describes well both the evolution of the separated phases and the variation of the Co spin state. The experiments suggest that Sr doping initiates small droplets and a high degree of doping-driven cobalt spin-state transition, while the Sr-free second phase vanishes rapidly with increasing Sr content.