57Fe Mössbauer study of Fe nitrides

Summary Magnetic properties of Fe nitrides have been re-examined by⁵⁷Fe M?ssbauer spectroscopy. Hyperfine magnetic fields for α″-Fe₁₆N₂ are 30, 31 and 39T at 298K, but the averaged hyperfine field is 33T and nearly equal to the value of pure α-Fe. σ-Fe₂ N is an antiferromagnet below 9K having a small magnetic moment less than 0.1 μ_B, although γ′-Fe₄N and ε-Fe_3–2N are ferromagnets. ZnS-type FeN is non-magnetic at 4.2K. M?ssbauer spectra obtained from NaCl-type FeN are complex and some Fe atoms in this nitride show a surprisingly large hyperfine magnetic field of 49T. Paper presented at the ICAME-95, Rimini, 10–16 September 1995.