Experimental and ab initio study of the hyperfine parameters of ZnFe 2O4 with defects

• Published in: Hyperfine interactions Vol. 237; no. 1
• Main Authors: Quintero, J. Melo, Salcedo Rodríguez, K. L., Pasquevich, G. A., Zélis, P. Mendoza, Stewart, S. J., Rodríguez Torres, C. E., Errico, L. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 2016
• Subjects: 13-18 September 2015; Atomic; Condensed Matter Physics; Germany; Hadrons; Hamburg; Heavy Ions; Molecular; Nuclear Physics; Optical and Plasma Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Proceedings of the International Conference on the Applications of the Mössbauer Effect (ICAME 2015); Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Ferrites; Zinc ferrite; ZnFe; Hyperfine parameters calculation
• ISSN: 0304-3843; 1572-9540
• DOI: 10.1007/s10751-016-1229-1

We present a combined Mössbauer and ab initio study on the influence of oxygen-vacancies on the hyperfine and magnetic properties of the ZnFe 2 O 4 spinel ferrite. Samples with different degree of oxygen-vacancies were obtained from zinc ferrite powder that was thermally treated at different temperatures up to 650 ∘ C under vacuum.Theoretical calculations of the hyperfine parameters, magnetic moments and magnetic alignment have been carried out considering different defects such as oxygen vacancies and cation inversion. We show how theoretical and experimental approaches are complementary to characterize the local structure around Fe atoms and interpret the observed changes in the hyperfine parameters as the level of defects increases.