Magnetic properties and Mössbauer studies in Y1−x Gd x Fe2

Alloys of Y_1???x Gd _x Fe₂B _y (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1; y = 0, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2) have been prepared and investigated for structural and magnetic properties. The compounds with x = 0 and 1 are found to form in single phase with C15-type cubic Laves phase structure, while those with x = 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 are observed to form with small quantities of secondary (Y,Gd)Fe₃ phase. The lattice parameters, Curie temperature and the average Fe hyperfine field are found to increase with increasing x. The Gd–Gd and Gd–Fe interactions are attributed to be the main reason for the enhancement of magnetic properties. Boron was found to stabilize the (Y,Gd)Fe₂ phase without affecting the magnetic properties.     

Mössbauer studies of Fe x Mn1 − x S single crystals

Single crystals of iron manganese sulfides Fe _x Mn_{1 ? x} S (0.25 ≤ x ≤ 0.29) are experimentally investigated using Mössbauer spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. The Mössbauer spectra measured at 300 K exhibit a single broadened line characteristic of paramagnets. The isomer shift of this line is equal to 0.92–0.94 mm/s, which is typical of Fe²⁺ ions in the octahedral position. The quadrupole splitting (0.18–0.21 mm/s) suggests a distortion of the coordination polyhedron of iron ions in the Fe _x Mn_{1 ? x} S compounds.     

Mössbauer studies on Tb x Fe1−x alloy films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Amorphous ferrimagnetic Tb _x Fe_1?x films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and Tb _x Fe_1?x /NiFe exchange-coupled structures characterized by unidirectional anisotropy are obtained. The magnetic and chemical inhomogeneity of alloys of Tb _x Fe_1?x compensation composition is established on the basis of Mössbauer studies of these systems.     

57Fe Mössbauer and infrared studies of the system Co1−x Cd x Fe2O4

Mössbauer and infrared studies were made on samples of the ferrite system Co_1–xCd_xFe₂O₄ x=0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 and 1. Mössbauer spectra were taken at room temperature. The spectra of the samples withx0.7 showed well defined Zeeman patterns and they have been analyzed with two components, one due to A-site Fe³⁺ ions, and the other due to B-site Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions. The pattern due to B-site appeared to be composite and an explanation is given. The spectra withx=0.9 and 1 showed only a quadrupole splitting. The effect of cadmium substitution on the various hyperfine interactions has been discussed and the cationic distribution has been deduced for all values ofx. Far infrared spectra of the ferrite samples in the range 200–700 cm^–1 were reported. Four bands were observed: the high frequency bandv ₁ is assigned to tetrahedral complexes, and the low frequency bandv ₂ to octahedral complexes, a small bandv ₃ is due to Co²⁺-O^2– complexes andv ₄ is assigned to the lattice vibration of the system. The splitting occurred in thev ₁ andv ₂ bands atx=0.9 and inv ₂ atx=1, indicating the presence of Fe²⁺ ions in octahedral sites.     

Mössbauer and magnetization studies of iron oxide nanocrystals

Monodisperse iron oxide nanocrystals have been produced following non-hydrolytic, thermal decomposition routes. Spherically shaped particles with diameter of 4 and 12 nm and cubic shaped particles with an edge length of 9 nm have been studied. The particles have been shown to consist of mainly maghemite. A reduction of the saturation magnetic hyperfine field is observed for the 4 nm particles as compared to the corresponding bulk value. The anisotropy energy determined from the temperature variation of the magnetic hyperfine field was strongly enhanced for the 4 nm particles.     

57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetization study of YFexAl12−x (4.4⩽x⩽5)

YFe_xAl_12−x in the composition range 4.4⩽x⩽5 was prepared by induction melting followed by annealing in vacuum at 1270 K. Magnetization data below 150 K show complex magnetic behaviour dependent on applied field, composition and temperature. The transition temperature T_c, corresponding to the main maximum of the magnetization vs. temperature curves and below which magnetic interactions are observed for a significant fraction of the Fe atoms in the Mössbauer spectra, decreases from 180 K for x=4 down to 100 K for 4.2⩽x⩽4.7 and rises again up to 160 K for x=5. The analysis of the spectra obtained at 5 K is consistent with full occupation of the 8f sites by Fe atoms and sharing of the 8j sites by Fe and Al as deduced from the Rietveld analysis of X-ray powder diffraction data. The Mössbauer spectra further show a dependence of magnetic hyperfine fields and isomer shifts on the crystallographic site and on the number of the Fe nearest neighbours similar to that observed in UFe_xAl_12−x (4⩽x⩽6) and RFe_xAl_12−x (R=Y, Lu, x=4, 4.2). The magnetic properties of the UFe_xAl_12−x and YFe_xAl_12−x series are compared and the magnetic interactions between the different Fe sublattices are discussed.     

Mössbauer and PAC studies of nanocrystalline Fe

High-purity Fe powder was mechanically milled under argon at ambient temperature using an SPEX 8000 mill. The local atomic and magnetic structure was studied using⁵⁷Co/Fe Mössbauer and¹¹¹In/Cd perturbed angular correlations (PAC) spectroscopies. After 32 hours of milling, X-ray diffraction revealed effective grain diameters of 18 nm and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis indicated a Cr impurity concentration of 5%, presumably introduced by mechanical attrition of steel ball bearings used for milling. In addition to a spectral component very similar to bulk iron metal, the Mössbauer spectra exhibited hyperfine field shifts attributed to the Cr impurities. PAC spectra on Fe milled for 5 h, with no contamination, exhibited two components: (1) A slightly broadened magnetic interaction attributed to interior, defect-free sites of In/Cd probes with a mean hyperfine field slightly greater than in macroscopic grains. The defect-free site fraction grew appreciably during milling, even though In is essentially insoluble in Fe. (2) An indistinct signal due to mixed magnetic and quadrupole interactions attributed to probes at surface or other defect sites.     

Mössbauer studies on the series La1-xSrxFeO3

Mössbauer spectra have been recorded at 4.2 and 300 K on the series La_1–x Sr _x FeO₃, wherex varies from 0 to 1.0 in steps of 0.1. Neutron diffraction experiments have shown that the crystal structure is orthorhombic for 0x<0.3, rhombohedral for 0.4x0.7, and cubic for 0.8<x1.0. Mössbauer spectra at 4.2 K are composed of magnetic sextet components arising from different charge states of iron ions. In the orthorhombic and rhombohedral phases, the charge states Fe³⁺ and Fe⁵⁺ coexist. In the cubic phase, iron is present as Fe³⁺ and Fe⁴⁺ states. At 300 K, the samples are magnetically ordered in the range 0 x0.3 and the coexistence of Fe³⁺ and Fe⁵⁺ remains. For samples 0.4x1.0, the samples are paramagnetic. Fits to these spectra require two components, one corresponding to an Fe⁴⁺ state, the other being best described as an Fe³⁺ ion forx0.7 but forx>0.7 having a mean charge state which increases to 3.5 forx=1.0.     

Magnetization and Mössbauer studies of 57Fe doped SrCoO3

⁵⁷Fe (1%) doped SrCoO₃ obtained by high-pressure method, has been investigated by magnetization and Mössbauer spectroscopy studies (MS) in the temperature range 4.2 K to 300 K. The ferromagnetic ordering temperature T _C obtained is 272(2) K. Isothermal magnetization curves have been measured at various temperatures, from which the saturation moments (M _sat) have been deduced. The ⁵⁷Fe MS spectra display standard six-line patterns with an isomer shift typical of Fe^3?+? and a very small quadrupole splitting (QS = 0.14(1) mm/s above T _C). The magnetic hyperfine field at 4.2 K is 276(1) kOe. The temperature dependencies of the iron hyperfine field and M _sat (1.83 µ _B at 5 K) are almost identical. This shows that the Fe^3?+? is replacing Co^4?+?, both of the same electronic configuration. They also interact similarly, namely the Fe–Co exchange is almost identical to the Co–Co exchange.     

Structural and Mössbauer spectroscopic studies of Fe0.7−xCrxAl0.3 alloys

Fe_0.7−xCr_xAl_0.3 alloys with x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.35 have been synthesized by arc melting and studied by X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. All the samples studied were found to have single phase with body center cubic structure. The lattice parameter a, and hence the volume, were obtained from the X-ray diffraction patern and found to increase with increasing the chromium concentration. At room temperature Mössbauer studies show magnetic ordering for small values of x and paramagnetic behavior for large values of x under investigation. The Mössbauer spectra were analyzed considering a distribution of magnetic hyperfine fields for small values of x and two singlets were added for large values of x. During the fitting procedure, the relation between the hyperfine field and the isomer shift in the hyperfine field distribution was linear relation. The average hyperfine field and isomer shift as a function of chromium content x were found to decrease with increasing x. The results are explained in terms of local environmental effects on the hyperfine interactions.     

Magnetic and Mössbauer studies on nanocrystalline Co1−x Li x Fe2O4 (x = 0, 0.2)

Ultrafine particles of Co_1???x Li _x Fe₂O₄ (x?= 0, 0.2) samples are prepared by glycine–nitrate combustion route. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies show that the samples have cubic spinel structure and average crystallite sizes of x?= 0 and 0.2 are 36 and 44 nm respectively. Vibrating sample magnetometer studies revealed the ferromagnetic nature of the samples. Li-doped CoFe₂O₄ sample showed higher values of coercive field, remanent magnetization and saturation magnetization compared to pure CoF₂O₄ indicating the enhancement of magnetic interactions. Mössbauer spectra at 77 K exhibited two broad sextets indicating that Fe^3?+? ions occupy both tetrahedral and octahedral sites. From these studies, it is concluded that Co_1???x Li _x Fe₂O₄ (x?= 0, 0.2) samples exhibit an inverse spinel structure. At room temperature, two sextets are superimposed on a very broad non-Lorentzian background indicating the presence of superparamgnetic fraction in agreement with the microscopic observations.     

Microwave absorption and Mössbauer studies of Fe3O4 nanoparticles

Materials consisting of nanometer-sized magnetic particles are currently the subject of intensive research activities. Especially, much attention has been paid to their promising features for microwave magnetic properties. Well dispersed Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles of 30 nm have been synthesized by oxidization method with NaNO₂, and the microwave magnetic properties of the composites have been studied. The real and imaginary part of relative permittivity remained low and nearly constant in the region of 0.1–18 GHz, respectively. As a result, the resin composites having a thickness of 2.0–3.2 mm, and containing 20 vol% Fe₃O₄ in the form of nanoparticles with an average diameter of 30 nm, exhibited excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties in the frequency range of 4.5–12.0 GHz.     

TDPAC and emission Mössbauer spectroscopy of99Ru in YBa2Cu3O7−x

The hyperfine interactions of⁹⁹Ru(⁹⁹Rh) in YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x withx<0.2 andx1 were studied by means of TDPAC and emission Mössbauer spectroscopy. The superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x withx<0.2 was prepared by conventional heat treatment in oxygen, the semiconductor withx1 by heating the superconductor under a reduced pressure. The TDPAC and Mössbauer measurements show that Ru ions exclusively occupy the Cu-1 site, which forms one-dimensional Cu-O chains in the orthorhombic phase.     

Mössbauer study of spin states in amorphous Fe100−x Zr x alloys

Spin states in amorphous Fe_100–x Zr_x (7x12) are investigated using hyperfine field distributions (HFDs) as derived from⁵⁷Fe transmission Mössbauer experiments. The existence of low-, medium- and high-spin states is demonstrated by three-dimensional projections of HFDs. Temperature dependences of the corresponding average values revealed anomalous behaviour in the vicinity ofT _fc. An increase in the hyperfine magnetic fields observed towards low temperatures is discussed in terms of a ferromagnet-to-spin-glass transition. Utilizing also theT _c values, which were obtained from a thermal scanning Mössbauer technique, we propose a diagram of spin states in amorphous Fe-Zr.     

Mössbauer effect study of the pseudo-binary system (Ti1−x Nb x )Fe2

Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements have been done on (Ti_1–x Nb _x )Fe₂ compounds in order to investigate the effect of Nb on the magnetic properties of TiFe₂. The experimental results show that Nb enters the lattice by filling Ti sites, thereby forming a continuous phase over the whole range of Nb concentrations. The Mössbauer spectra at 80 K fitted with a magnetic hyperfine field distribution show a continuous decrease of the average magnetic hyperfine field with increasing Nb concentration, as well as several different magnetic configurations forx0.3.     

Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic studies of orientated textured Fe3O4 ferrofluid

Nano scale magnetite based ferrofluid is synthesized by chemical co pre cipitation technique and stabilized with oleic acid. Magnetization and viscosity measurements were used to optimize for texturing purpose. The freeze-textured ferrofluid in two configurations, namely, (1) field texture system (FTS) and (2) zero field texture system (ZTS) are investigated by magnetization measurements at 298 K and Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements at 77 and 298 K. These results are analysed on the basis of the contributions from collective superparamagnetic reversal and the strength of the inter particle interactions.