Magnetic structure of BaCaFe4O8-analysis of neutron diffraction measurements

The compound BaCaFe₄O₈ crystallizes in the trigonal space group P$\text{31}$m with one formula unit per unit cell with lattice constants $\text{a = 5.4059}\text{A}$ and $\text{c = 7.7023}\text{A}$ Neutron diffraction measurements carried out on a powder sample over the temperature range 300–900 K showed that the compound undergoes a magnetic transition to an antiferromagnetic state at a Néel temperature T_N = 680 ± 5 K. Analysis of the room temperature neutron diffraction pattern gave a magnetic unit cell that has the same periodicty as the crystallographic one. An antiferromagnetic model is proposed with the iron spin magnetic moments parallel to the c-axis of the unit cell. The magnetic moment of the Fe³⁺ ion was found to be (4.5 ± 0.1)μ_B