Effects of Mn substitution of Co and Fe in spinel CoFe2O4 thin films

Effects of Mn substitution for Co and Fe on the structural and magnetic properties of inverse-spinel CoFe₂O₄ have been investigated. Mn_xCo_1−xFe₂O₄ and Mn_yCoFe_2−yO₄ thin films were prepared by a sol–gel method. The observed increase of the lattice constant of Mn_xCo_1−xFe₂O₄ indicates that Mn²⁺ ions substitute the octahedral Co²⁺ sites. Conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy data indicate that a fraction of octahedral Co²⁺ ions exchange sites with tetrahedral Fe³⁺ ions through Mn doping. Vibrating-sample magnetometry data exhibit a large increase of saturation magnetization for both Mn_xCo_1−xFe₂O₄ and Mn_yCoFe_2−yO₄ films compared to that of the CoFe₂O₄ film. Such enhancement of magnetization can be explained in terms of a breaking of ferrimagnetic order induced by the Co²⁺ migration.     

Optical investigation of charge-transfer transitions in spinel Co3O4

Optical transitions in normal-spinel Co₃O₄ have been identified by investigating the variation of its optical absorption spectrum with the replacement of Co by Zn. Three optical-transition structures were located at about 1.65, 2.4, and 2.8 eV from the measured dielectric function of Co₃O₄ by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The variation of the absorption structures with the Zn substitution (Zn_xCo_3−xO₄) can be explained in terms of charge-transfer transitions involving d states of Co ions. The 1.65 eV structure is assigned to a d-d charge-transfer transition between the t_2g states of octahedral Co³⁺ ion and t₂ states of tetrahedral Co²⁺ ion, t_2g(Co³⁺)→t₂(Co²⁺). The 2.4 and 2.8 eV structures are interpreted as due to charge-transfer transitions involving the p states of O²⁻ ion: p(O²⁻)→t₂(Co²⁺) for the 2.4 eV absorption and p(O²⁻)→e_g(Co³⁺) for the 2.8 eV absorption. The observed gradual reduction of the 1.65 and 2.4 eV absorption strength with the increase of the Zn composition for Zn_xCo_3−xO₄ can be explained in terms of the substitution of the tetrahedral Co²⁺ sites by Zn²⁺ ions. The crystal-field splitting Δ_Oh between the e_g and the t_2g states of the octahedral Co³⁺ ion is estimated to be 2 eV.     

钴改性Fe3O4-MnO2催化转化生物质合成气制备液体燃料

本文制备了用于费托合成反应的钴改性Fe₃O₄-MnO₂双功能催化剂,并探究了钴负载量对Fe-Co协同效应的影响以及Fe₁Co_xMn₁催化剂的费托合成反应性能. 实验发现,在Fe₃O₄-Mn催化剂中加入Co可促进铁氧化物的还原、增加反应过程中铁位点的活性. 此外,Co的加入可增强Fe-Co金属间的电子转移,加强两者的协同作用,提高催化性能. Co负载较高的Fe₁Co_xMn₁催化剂可进一步促进加氢反应能力,使产品分布向短链烃方向转移. 在280 ^°C、2.0 MPa和3000 h^-1的最佳工况条件下,Fe₁Co₁Mn₁催化剂的液体燃料收率最高.     

Transfert électronique d'intervalence entre sites inéquivalents: Étude de CaFe3O5 par spectrométrie Mössbauer

As in magnetite Fe₃O₄, calcium ferrite CaFe₃O₅ is an oxide in which electron transfer occurs between the iron ions ($\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{3+}}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{2+}}\text{= 2}$). This intervalence exchange process has been studied by ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and by electrical conductivity measurements. In CaFe₃O₅, the Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions occupy different crystallographic sites and have a deformed octahedral coordination. Each Fe²⁺O₆ octahedron shares an edge with two Fe³⁺O₆ octahedra. In the antiferromagnetic region (T_N = 282 ± 2 K), the Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions are well differentiated. Thermally-activated electron transfer is observed above t_n, in the paramagnetic region and is well characterized by the Mössbauer spectra. These are analyzed using the hypothesis of an electron jump limited to a trimer Fe³⁺Fe²⁺Fe³⁺ which leads to a relaxation time of 180 ns at 298 K and 80 ns at 400 K. Within this temperature interval, the process follows the Arrhenius law with an activation energy of 0.10 eV. Electrical conductivity measurements lead to similar results with an activation energy of 0.09 ± 0.02 eV.     

Decoupled magnetic subsystems in the random mixture FepCo1-p(C5H5NO)6(ClO4)2

Specific heat data on the random mixtures Fe_pCo_1-pL₆(ClO₄)₂, where L = C₅H₅NO, are presented. The Fe and Co magnetic atoms have competing anisotropies since the pure Fe and Co compounds are known to be good examples of the simple cubic, $\text{S =}\text{1}\text{2}$, Ising and XY magnet, respectively. The experimental data show the two magnetic subsystems in the mixtures to be almost completely decoupled, which is a consequence of the fact that the crystal field anisotropies of the Fe²⁺ and Co²⁺ ions, yielding g_∥ ? g_⊥ and g_⊥ ? g_∥, respectively, are very strong compared to the magnetic exchange interactions. Consequently the two magnetic subsystems experience one another as nonmagnetic impurities. A model is presented which explains these results, as well as those previously found for related random mixtures, in terms of two interpenetrating percolation clusters.     

Temperature dependence of the hyperfine field in amorphous Fe2O3

Mössbauer spectroscopy was used to follow the hyperfine field at ⁵⁷Fe nuclei in amorphous Fe₂O₃. The value of H_hf at T = 0, 470 kG, indicates $\text{J}\text{=}\text{5}\text{2}$ for the Fe ions, while the reduced hyperfine field versus reduced temperature closely follows a $\text{J}\text{=}\text{1}\text{2}$ Brillouin function. This result is at variance with theoretical predictions for a spin glass and is also different from amorphous metals with a high content of magnetic ions as reported in the literature. Paramagnetic Mössbauer spectra of amorphous mixed oxides of Fe₂O₃ with ZnO and CoO show that the ⁵⁷Fe nuclei in all amorphous ferric oxides studied so far are coordinated in a manner similar to the d site in β F₂O₃, and distinctly different from the coordination in their crystalline form.     

Electronic structure studies of the spinel CoFe2O4 by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The spinel CoFe₂O₄ has been synthesized by combustion reaction technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that samples are near-stoichiometric, and that the specimen surface both in the powder and bulk sample is most typically represented by the formula (Co_0.4Fe_0.6)[Co_0.6Fe_1.4]O₄, where cations in parentheses occupy tetrahedral sites and those within square brackets in octahedral sites. The results demonstrate that most of the iron ions are trivalent, but some Fe²⁺ may be present in the powder sample. The Co 2p_3/2 peak in powder sample composed three peaks with relative intensity of 45%, 40% and 15%, attributes to Co²⁺ in octahedral sites, tetrahedral sites and Co³⁺ in octahedral sites. The O 1s spectrum of the bulk sample is composed of two peaks: the main lattice peak at 529.90 eV, and a component at 531.53 eV, which is believed to be intrinsic to the sample surface. However, the vanishing of the O 1s shoulder peak of the powder specimen shows significant signs of decomposition.     

Crystal growth of Co ferrite on fine acicular γ-Fe2O3 particles

Highly coercive magnetic powder was obtained by growing cobalt ferrite on the surface of γ-Fe₂O₃ particles in highly alkaline suspensions containing cobalt and ferrous ions in a Co/Fe molar ratio = $\text{1}\text{2}$. The mechanism of the growth and the structure of cobalt ferrite on γ-Fe₂O₃ were studied by X-ray diffraction and electron diffraction techniques. Results show that crystals of cobalt ferrite CoFe₂O₄ with a spinel type crystal structure of lattice constant 8.415 Å grew epitaxially on γ-Fe₂O₃. The acicular direction of the epitaxially grown Co-γ-Fe₂O₃ as well as γ-Fe₂O₃ was in the [$\text{1}$01] direction. It was found that from the lattice constant value and the half width of X-ray diffraction peaks, the lattice constant epitaxially grown Co γ-Fe₂O₃ may be attributed to two kinds of crystals, viz., seed γ-Fe₂O₃ ($\text{a = 8.35 ～ 8.37}\text{A}\text{?}$) which was partly reduced to Fe₃O₄, and surface layer CoFe₂O₄ ($\text{a = 8.415}\text{A}\text{?}$). The crystal growth in the interface between the seed crystals and the growth layer was affected by the crystal structure of the seed crystals. The lattice constant of CoFe₂O₄ which was located in the vicinity of the interface was almost equal to that of the seed crystals.     

The coordination of Co2+ions in Co substituted magnetites,Fe3−xCoxO4, with x⩽0.04

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra at room temperature, both with and without external magnetic field, indicate that Co²⁺ ions in Co_xFe_3?xO₄spinels (x?0.04) are situated on the octahedral B sites. The Mössbauer parameters are listed and the existence of unpaired Fe³⁺ ions is evidenced.     

Mössbauer study of Na0.82Co0.99Fe0.01O2

We studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy the Na_0.82CoO₂ compound using 1% ⁵⁷Fe as a local probe which substitutes for the Co ions. Mössbauer spectra at T=300 K revealed two sites which correspond to Fe³⁺ and Fe⁴⁺. The existence of two distinct values of the quadrupole splitting instead of a continuous distribution should be related with the charge ordering of Co⁺³, Co⁺⁴ ions and ion ordering of Na(1) and Na(2). Below T=10 K part of the spectrum area, corresponding to Fe⁴⁺ and all of Fe³⁺, displays broad magnetically split spectra arising either from short-range magnetic correlations or from slow electronic spin relaxation.     

Interpretation of charge transfer bands in Fe doped SrTiO3 crystals

The electronic structures of SrTiO₃ crystals doped with Fe³⁺, Fe⁴⁺ and Fe⁵⁺ ions have been investigated using the Xα cluster approach. The ground-state eigenvalues show the lower Fe acceptor level, of t_2g↓ symmetry, localized inside the SrTiO₃ band gap, respectively at 2.8 eV $\text{(}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{3+}}\text{, S =}\text{5}\text{2}\text{), 1.6}\text{eV}\text{(}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{4+}}\text{, S = 1)}\text{or}\text{1.1}\text{eV}\text{(}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{4+}}\text{, S = 0)}\text{and}\text{1.1}\text{eV}\text{(}\text{Fe}{}^{\mathrm{5+}}\text{, S =}\text{3}\text{2}\text{)}$ above the valence band edge. Other acceptor levels, with eg↓ and eg↑ symmetries, appear inside the gap when the Fe nominal ionicity increases.The theoretical Xα excitation energies of O 2p-Fe 3d transitions confirms the experimental interpretations of acceptor charge transfer bands for the optical absorption spectra of SrTiO₃:Fe⁴⁺ and SrTiO₃:Fe⁵⁺ crystals.The large optical excitation energies compared with the thermal transitions are partly due to the O 2p band width.     

Co57 and Fe57 mössbauer studies of the spinels FeCo2O4 and Fe0.5Co2.5O4

Mössbauer source and absorber spectra of FeCo₂O₄ and Fe_0.5Co_2.5O₄ have been obtained between 82 and 523 K. Interpretation of the spectra allow the cation distributions of the compounds to be determined. FeCo₂O₄ is Co²⁺_0.55Fe³⁺_0.45[Co²⁺_0.45Fe³⁺_0.55Co³⁺_1.0]O₄ and Fe_0.5Co_2.5O₄ is Co₁²⁺[Fe³⁺_0.5Co³⁺_1.5]O₄. Spinel tetrahedral site quadruple splitting is observed in both compounds.     

Esca studies of Ga,As, GaAs,Ga2O3, As2O3 and As2O5

The binding energies of Ga 3d, As 3d, Ga L₃M₄,₅M₄,₅ and O 1s in Ga, As, GaAs, Ga₂O₃, As₂O₃ and As₂O₅ are reevaluated by means of ESCA. The calibration lines of the C 1s and the Au 4f_{$\text{7}\text{2}$} gave different binding energies for the compound materials. In order to determine the absolute binding energies, the chemical shifts in Auger and photoelectron lines from a layered structure composed of thin layer oxide and substrate of a defined material were used. An energy calibration curve, E(Ga 3d) vs. ΔE(GA LMM - Ga 3d), was found to be useful for determination of binding energies in the material which contains gallium. In the case of the GaAs sample, both the chemical etching and the ion bombardment effects on the chemical structure of the GaAs surface are also discussed.     

Structure electronique des oxydes de cobalt CoO et Co3O4

The total density of occupied states in the valence band of CoO and Co₃O₄ is determined by XPS and UPS. From variations of excitation probability of the bands, the 4 e V wide O2_p band is shown to be located around 5 eV for both oxides, while structures obtained from photoionisation of the localized 3d band spread over 10 eV range below the Fermi level overlapping with O2_p band. The 3d peaks located at binding energy <3 eV correspond to the calculated energy of the d_n ?1 manifold final state in the octahedral and tetrahedral crystal field of CoO and Co₃O₄. The 3d levels at higher binding energy are shown to occur from configuration interaction in both final and initial states. These last peaks are higher in intensity for CoO relative to Co₃O₄. A superior limit for the width of the 3d initial band in a one electron energy diagram is given to be <3 eV. This value associated to the Coulomb correlation energy measured equal to ~3 eV. This value associated to the Coulomb correlation energy measured equal to ~3 eV from shake-up and Auger energy confirms the Mott insulator nature of CoO.     

Characterization of LiFeCl4 and AgFeCl4 ionic conductors

LiFeCl₄ and AgFeCl₄ are obtained by direct reaction between LiCl or AgCl and FeCl₃ at 300°C and 400°C respectively. Both compounds are monoclinic with $\text{a = 7.02 (1)}\text{A}\text{?}$, $\text{b = 6.33 (1)}\text{A}\text{?}$, $\text{c = 12.72 (4)}\text{A}\text{?}$, β = 92° (30') for LiFeCl₄ and $\text{a = 10.60 (5)}\text{A}\text{?}$, $\text{b = 6.30 (5)}\text{A}\text{?}$, $\text{c = 12.34 (10)}\text{A}\text{?}$, β = 106° (1) for AgFeCl₄.LiFeCl₄ is clearly isotypic of LiAlCl₄. Magnetic measurements characterize in both cases Fe³⁺ ions in a high spin tetrahedral situation. LiFeCl₄ becomes antiferromagnetic at low temperature (T_N?10 K). AgFeCl₄ reveals a more complex situation. On contrary to the silver derivative, LiFeCl₄ is a good ionic conductor with activation energy of 0.78 eV in the solid state below 105°C, and a sharp increase in the lithium mobility at this temperature.     

Laser time-resolved selective excitation of Nd3+ ions in KNdP4O12 crystals

The emission spectra of Nd³⁺ ions in KNd_xRE_1?xP₄O₁₂ (RE = Y, La and Pr) and KNd_xCr_1?xP₄O₁₂ crystals were investigated. Under selective excitation into ²G$\text{7}\text{2}$ + ⁴G$\text{5}\text{2}$ multiples at 1.6 K the fluorescence of Nd³⁺ ions in non-equivalent crystal sites was observed. The excitation spectrum of the ${}^4\text{F}\text{3}\text{2}$ fluorescence had a complex satellite structure. Time resolved measurements showed the dependence of the fluorescence decay on the excitation wavelength. Selective excitation into the satellite lines at the wings of the main transition led to strongly non-exponential decay. The low temperature results indicated that there is no spectral energy transfer between ions in different types of sites.     

Multiferroic behaviors of Co-doped Bi4NdTi3FeO15 ceramics

By using a multicalcination procedure, Co-doped Bi₄NdTi₃Fe${}_{1?x}$Co_xO₁₅ ($x=0.1,0.3,0.5\text{ and }0.7$) (Co_x) ceramics were synthesized. The samples showed a single-phase (SP) Aurivillius structure containing four perovskite layers. Plate-like morphology of the grains which is related to the layered perovskite structure of the samples was clearly observed by SEM. The multiferroic properties of the samples at room temperature (RT) were demonstrated by dielectric, ferroelectric and magnetic measurements. With x ranging from 0.1 to 0.7, all the samples show RT multiferroic properties although there is no obvious regularity between the Co content and the multiferroic property. Very interestingly, Co_0.3 sample exhibits the optimum RT magnetic property, which can be attributed to the inclination of occupying the inner octahedra center for doped Co ions and the nearly 1:1 ratio of Fe and Co ions in the inner octahedra. The present work offers new insight into the compositional design of promising lead-free RT multiferroic materials.     

Radiation-induced paramagnetic centres in glass-ceramics derived from the MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-TiO2 system

MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-TiO₂ glass-ceramics have been γ-irradiated and examined by electron spin resonance. The spectra observed arise from two principle sites; Ti⁴⁺ ions radiochemically reduced to Ti³⁺ and holes trapped at the π-type orbitals of oxygen ions bridging between SiO₄ and AlO₄ units. The Ti³⁺ line, although very similar to its form in the parent glasses, is in general a composite of two distinct lineshapes, each of which is associated with one of the two major crystalline phases Cordierite or Enstatite. The hole centre has a characteristic hyperfine interaction similar to that of the Boron Oxygen Hole Centre of Borate glasses. The Hamiltonian parameters of this centre are $\text{S =}\text{1}\text{2}$, $\text{I =}\text{5}\text{2}$, g₁ = 2.0023, g₂ = 2.0148, g₃ = 2.035 and |A₁| = |A₂| = |A₃| = 8.41 × 10^-4cm^-1.     

Optical,magneto-optical and mössbauer spectroscopy on Co3+ substituted cobalt ferrite Co2+Fe2−xCo3+xO4(0 ⩽ x ⩽ 2)

The magneto-optical spectra of Co_1+xFe_2?xO₄ show with increasing Co³⁺ content an increasing intensity of the 4A₂ ? 4T₁(F) and 4A₂ ? 4T₁(P) transition of Co²⁺ at 0.8 and 2.0 eV. A decrease in the Co²⁺-Fe³⁺ charge transfer transitions on octahedral sites is found. In the optical spectra a strong increase in optical absorption is found with dominant transitions at 0.8, 1.6 and 2.6 eV due to Co³⁺ crystal field transitions on octahedral sites and a Co²⁺-Co³⁺ charge transfer. Conversion Electron Mössbauer Spectroscopy has been used to determine the cation distribution in the surface layer of the samples. The results indicate a shift of Co²⁺ from octahedral to tetrahedral sites when Co³⁺ is substituted in CoFe₂O₄. This results in enhanced optical absorption, enhanced magneto-optical effects and a lower Curie temperature.     

The effect of nonmagnetic defects on magnetic behavior for multilayers Ta/Co/Co3O4/Ta

The exchange bias field H_E was much higher for Ta/Co/Co₃O₄/Ta than Ta/Co/Co₃O₄, fabricated in a magnetron sputtering system under the same experimental conditions. The XPS analysis showed that Ta atoms of cap layer for Ta/Co/Co₃O₄/Ta diffused into Co₃O₄ layer and reduced Co₃O₄, and introduced some nonmagnetic defects into the AFM layer. The dilution of the AFM layer led to the formation of volume domains. We believed that the higher H_E for the multilayers Ta/Co/Co₃O₄/Ta was primarily attributed to the formation of volume domain due to some nonmagnetic defects in AFM layer.