Synthesis and characterization of Cu2+ substituted magnetite

Samples of magnetite, both pure and doped with divalent copper, Fe_3???xCu_xO₄, with x?=?0, 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20 atm.%, were synthesized hydrothermally. The samples were characterized by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Mössbauer Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy and SQUID magnetometry. The analyses made by the above techniques showed that as the Cu²⁺ concentration increases, a simultaneous reduction in the magnetic and structural parameters takes place, namely: magnetic hyperfine interactions at octahedral sites, particle size and lattice constant. Degradation in the particles morphology as well as a distribution of their size were also observed. Our study points two important effects of Cu²⁺ in magnetite, the first one is its incorporation within the structure, replacing Fe²⁺ ions and decreasing both the magnetic hyperfine interactions at octahedral sites and the bulk magnetization, the second one is the contraction of the crystalline lattice of magnetite, because incorporation of Cu²⁺ within the structure, generation of vacancies or both simultaneous effects.