The temperature dependence of the Mössbauer hyperfine parameters in Nd2Fe14B

We have determined the temperature dependence of the internal hyperfine field, isomer shift, and quadrupole shift at each of the six iron sites in Nd₂Fe₁₄B. The hyperfine parameters are consistent with the local iron site environments. The quadrupole and isomer shifts and their temperature dependences support our assignments of the relative ordering of the internal hyperfine fields as j₂>k₂>ck₁>j₁>c. We obtain a Mössbauer temperature of 390 K for Nd₂Fe₁₄B, which compares well with the Debye temperature of 420K for pure iron.     

Mössbauer study of the intermetallic compound Nd2Fe14B. I. interpretation of complex spectrum

The ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectrum of the Nd₂Fe₁₄B compound at room temperature has been analyzed with a set of six subspectra due to six crystallographically non-equivalent sites of Fe-atoms. It was shown that there are three possible sets of six subspectra, and the most suitable one could be selected by considering how the hyperfine field and the isomer shift are influenced by near neighbor atoms. The result is applicable to the analyses of the spectra of Nd₂Fe₁₄B and Ho₂Fe₁₄B at room temperature. The order in magnitude of the hyperfine fields and that of the isomer shifts at the six Fe-sites is much the same for the three compounds, while the quadrupole splittings depend complicatedly on the kind of rare earth atom and/or on the lattice parameters.     

A Mössbauer spectroscopic study of 3d magnetism of R2Fe14B

Guided by the occupancies and iron magnetic moments μ³, ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer parameters of Y₂Fe₁₄B at 250K, and in turn for other temperatures, of the sublattices of iron were deduced. Plots of μ(T) in reduced coordinates, through the established correlation between hyperfine field Hn and μ, show that the corresponding state of different iron sites is different and all experimental points fall below Brillouin function. The relation between exchange integral deviation parameter Δ and standard deviation of Fe-Fe interatomic distances S is linear, indicating electrostatic nature of exchange interactions between spins in neighboring atoms. It is inclined to the view that fluctuations of exchange integral is responsible for low T_c of R₂Fe₁₄B.     

Study of the dehydration of Portland Cement by Mössbauer spectrometry

Egyptian Portland Cement in the form of one inch cube was hydrated at different times of hydration. Nine cubes of each period of hydration were heated for five minutes 200, 300, 400 up to 1000°C then were quenched in air. The compressive strength was measured for these samples and related to unheated ones. These cubes were ground and measured by Mössbauer spectrometry to correlate the effect of dehydration of cement pastes on the states of iron, with the decrease of compressive strength. It was observed that starting from 400°C the central doublet characteristic of the hydration process decreased as the dehydration temperature was increased. At 1000°C the dehydration process was complete, the central doublet disappeared and the compressive strength vanished. The hydration process was found to be reversible. The application of Mössbauer spectrometry to estimate the degree of fire in concrete building was demonstrated.     

Mössbauer study of the intermetallic compound Nd2Fe14B. II. Temperature dependence and spin reorientation

The ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer effects of Nd₂Fe₁₄B were measured in a temperature range of 4.2−300 K. Below the spin reorientation transition temperature T_sc = 148 K, the spectra were satisfactorily analyzed with twelve Zeeman sextuplets due to splitting of six crystallographic Fe-sites into twelve non-equivalent sites. It was shown that the magnetic moments of the Fe and the Nd atoms are non-collinearly coupled in the magnetic structure with canted moments below T_sc. The directions of the moments at 4.2 K are inclined at 27° for Fe and at 58° for Nd from the c-axis to the [110] direction. The average moments are 2.27μ_B for Fe and 3.3μ_B for Nd at 4.2 K. The increase of the average hyperfine field with decreasing temperature is suppressed below T_sc, and its value at 4.2 K is reduced by 1% from the value of 337 kOe which is observed in Y₂Fe₁₄B and also estimated for Nd₂Fe₁₄B by extrapolating the values above T_sc. On the other hand, the Nd moment increases abruptly around T_sc as the temperature decreases. The directions of the principal axes of electric field gradients on the six distinct Fe-sites were also obtained. The anomalous temperature dependence of quadrupole splittings and isomer shifts was observed around T_sc. They were discussed in a framework of the changes in the band structure and the lattice parameters incidental to the spin reorientation transition.     

169Tm Mössbauer effect in Tm2Fe14B

The compound Tm₂Fe₁₄B was investigated by means of ¹⁶⁹Tm Mössbauer spectroscopy in the temperature range from 4.2 to 300 K. The temperature dependencies of the hyperfine fields and quadrupole splittings for the two Tm sites were determined. The data were analysed on the basis of the spin structure determined by Yamada et al., which appears to be only partially compatible with the observed spectrum.     

A57Fe Mössbauer study of Nd(Fe0.5Co0.5)9Si2

A⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer study of Nd(Fe_0.5Co_0.5)₉Si₂ has been carried out over the temperature range 4.2–295 K. The analysis of the Mössbauer spectra, combined with X-ray diffraction on a magnetically aligned powder sample, shows that the easy-magnetization direction lies in the basal plane of this tetragonal BaCd₁₁ structure at 295 K, but is canted at an angle of 29(5) above the basal plane at 4.2 K. AC susceptibility measurements performed in the temperature range 77–295 K reveal a peak spanning the range 87–106 K, with the maximum occurring at 96 K. From these data, we conclude that there is a spin-reorientation from basal c-plane to a canted magnetic structure in this compound, with an onset at 96 K as the temperature decreases.     

Effective Anisotropy in Magnetically Nd2Fe14B/α-Fe Nanocomposite

Considering different contact situations of grains, we effective anisotropies of magnetically soft α-Fe grains, investigate the effects of exchange-coupling interaction on hard Nd2Fe14B grains and NdaFe14B/α-Fe nanocomposite. An expression of effective anisotropy suitable for different degrees of exchange-coupling between grains is presented. The calculation results show that the exchange-coupling interaction increases the average anisotropy of soft grains and decreases that of hard grains. The effective anisotropy of Nd2Fe14B/α-Fe nanocomposite decreases smoothly with decreasing grain size when the grain size is larger than 20 nm while it decreases dramaticaily with further decrease of the grain size. In order to maintain high coercivity in Nd2Fe14B/α-Fe nanoeomposite, the grain size should not be less than 20nm.     

Conversion Electron Mössbauer Study of Mixing Induced by Swift Heavy Ions at the Fe/Si Interface

Conversion Electron Mössbauer Spectroscopy (CEMS) was employed in order to study the mixing induced by swift Au and Ag ions at the Fe/Si interface in the Fe/Fe⁵⁷/Si system. An increase in the amount of mixing with ion fluence and electronic energy loss (S _e) has been observed. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) results provided indirect evidence to support the above observations.     

Magnetic and 57Fe Mössbauer studies of collinear spin rotation in Ho2Fe14B

Magnetic properties of Ho₂Fe₁₄B compounds have been studied by the ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer effect and magnetization measurements. The axes of easy and hard magnetizations lie along the [001] and the [100] directions in the tetragonal structure, respectively, above T_sc = 58 K. From the comparison of the Mössbauer results with the magnetization measurements, it became clear that the Fe and the Ho moments tilt collinearly from the c-axis to the [110] direction throughout the temperature range of 4.2–58 K, and the canting angle reaches to 22° at 4.2 K. The Mössbauer spectra are consistently resolved with six subspectra above T_sc and with twelve below T_sc, together with reasonable site-assignments. We have estimated the mean Ho moment at 10.0μ_B, using the mean Fe moment of 2.3μ_B derived from the average hyperfine field or using the magnetization of Y₂Fe₁₄B as the Fe-sublattice magnetization of Ho₂Fe₁₄B.     

238U and 57Fe Mössbauer Spectroscopic Study of UFe2

We have performed ⁵⁷Fe and ²³⁸U Mössbauer measurements of UFe₂ in order to investigate its magnetic properties. From the results of ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, the ferrromagnetic ordering at 167 K is caused by the iron 3d-electrons, which hybridize strongly with the uranium 5f-conduction electrons. It is also clarified from the results of ²³⁸U Mössbauer spectroscopy that there are no magnetic moments on the uranium atoms.     

166Er Mössbauer spectroscopy in the Er2Fe14B H¢L alloys

¹⁶⁶Er Mössbauer spectroscopy is investigated in Er₂Fe₁₄B and its hydride. The hyperfine interaction parameters are discussed and compared to those reported for other intermetallic Er alloys. A consistent interpretation of the hyperfine data along the RE₂Fe₁₄B series (RE = rare earth element) is proposed.     

Mössbauer study of a Fe3O4/PMMA nanocomposite synthesized by sonochemistry

Magnetite nanoparticles of 10 nm average size were synthesized by ultrasonic waves from the chemical reaction and precipitation of ferrous and ferric iron chloride (FeCl₃ · 6H₂O y FeCl₂ · 4H₂O) in a basic medium. The formation and the incorporation of the magnetite in PMMA were followed by XRD and Mössbauer Spectroscopy. These magnetite nanoparticles were subsequently incorporated into the polymer by ultrasonic waves in order to obtain the final sample of 5 % weight Fe₃O₄ into the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Both samples Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles and 5 % Fe₃O₄/PMMA nanocomposite, were studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy in the temperature range of 300 K–77 K. In the case of room temperature, the Mössbauer spectrum of the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles sample was fitted with two magnetic histograms, one corresponding to the tetrahedral sites (Fe^3?+?) and the other to the octahedral sites (Fe^3?+? and Fe^2?+?), while the 5 % Fe₃O₄/PMMA sample was fitted with two histograms as before and a singlet subspectrum related to a superparamagnetic behavior, caused by the dispersion of the nanoparticles into the polymer. The 77 K Mössabuer spectra for both samples were fitted with five magnetic subspectra similar to the bulk magnetite and for the 5 % Fe₃O₄/PMMA sample it was needed to add also a superparamagnetic singlet. Additionally, a study of the Verwey transition has been done and it was observed a different behavior compared with that of bulk magnetite.     

Mössbauer Optimization of the Direct Synthesis of β-FeSi2 by Ion Beam Mixing of Fe/Si Bilayers

At present, there is an increasing interest in the iron di-silicide phase -FeSi₂, which is supposed to be a direct band gap semiconductor and one of the most promising materials for silicon-based optoelectronics, e.g., light-emitting devices, solar cells, and photo detectors. But this phase is very difficult to be produced. Here, the successful direct synthesis of this phase by ion beam mixing of Fe/Si bilayers at temperatures in the range of 400 to 600°C is reported. The aim of the experiments was to achieve a complete reaction of the deposited Fe layer with the Si substrate that results in the formation of a pure, single-phased -FeSi₂ surface layer. The obtained silicide layers, their structure and composition are investigated by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The fraction of the -FeSi₂ formed is determined by CEMS as function of ion species, energy, fluence and temperature. Complete growth and formation of a single-phased -FeSi₂ layer was achieved by 205 keV Xe ion irradiation at a fluence of 2×10¹⁶ ions/cm² at 600°C.     

Mössbauer study of magnetic Fe/FeSi multilayers

Many useful properties of magnetic multilayers depend on the coupling between the ferromagnetic layers. The coupling often oscillates with the thickness of non-magnetic spacer layers: it is ferro- or antiferromagnetic or even non-collinear near a critical thickness. We investigated the magnetron-sputtered Fe/FeSi multilayers with spacer thickness around 1.7 nm by means of Conversion Electron Mössbauer Spectroscopy with oblique incidence of the γ beam in order to gain information on the orientation of the local magnetic moments in the multilayer plane. The results show that the local moments make an angle of 45°–50° with the direction of the remanent magnetization. This is consistent with strong biquadratic coupling which in turn is expected at this spacer thickness from our magnetic measurements. An analysis of the distribution ofB _hf corresponding to different numbers of n.n. Si atoms in the bcc Fe structure points to weak diffusion of Si through the Fe/FeSi interface characterized by a diffusion length of about twice the substrate roughness.     

Study of defects in Fe–Re and Fe–Mo alloys by the Mössbauer and positron annihilation spectroscopies

The room temperature positron annihilation lifetime spectra and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra were measured for pure Fe as well as for iron-based Fe_1?xRe_x and Fe_1?xMo_x solid solutions with x in the range 0.01≤x≤0.05. The measurements were performed in order to learn more about creation of structural defects during formation and further mechanical processing of the iron systems under consideration. The spectra were collected at least twice for each studied sample synthesized in an arc furnace—after cold rolling to the thickness of about 40 μm as well as after subsequent annealing at 1270 K for 2 h. It was found that in the annealed samples positrons live much shorter than in the not annealed ones which suggest that the latter samples are more defected as it could be expected. Moreover simultaneous analysis of the positron and Mössbauer data shows that cold rolling leads to creation of two types of defects. It seems that they are dislocations and vacancies. Finally from the Mössbauer data it follows that vacancies are located mainly in the vicinity of non-iron atoms, Re or Mo. This speaks in favour of the suggestion that in iron matrix the impurities mentioned above and vacancies interact attractively which supports the known from the literature, theoretical calculations on the Mo-vacancy interaction in iron.     

Mössbauer Studies of Core-Shell FeO/Fe3O4 Nanoparticles

Physics of the Solid State - FeO/Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by thermal decomposition. Electron microscopy revealed that these nanoparticles were of the core-shell type and had a spherical...