TITLE:
Study of the Effect of Cu2+ in the Lattice Dynamics of Doped Magnetites Obtained by the Hydrothermal Synthesis Method
AUTHORS:
A. A. Velásquez, J. P. Urquijo
KEYWORDS:
Doped Magnetites; Mössbauer Recoilless Fraction; Divalent Copper
JOURNAL NAME:
Spectral Analysis Review,
Vol.1 No.2,
October
22,
2013
ABSTRACT: In this work, the effect of Cu2+ on the structural and magnetic properties of samples of magnetite is addressed. Samples
of magnetite, both pure and Cu2+ doped, Fe3-xCuxO4, with x = 0, 5, 10 and 20 atm.% were synthesized hydrothermally. The two-lattice method was employed to measure the Mossbauer recoilless fraction of magnetite relative to hematite (fmag/fhem)
of the samples, looking for evidence of substitution of Fe2+ by Cu2+. The relative recoilless fraction measurements were performed by taking room temperature Mossbauer spectra of mixtures of each sample with analytical grade hematite. The Mossbauer measurements were complemented with Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). The analyses by AAS and EDS showed that the copper concentration in the final products
increases with increasing the content of Cu2+ in the starting solutions. The Mossbauer analyses showed a linear decrease trend of the relative Mossbauer recoilless fraction with increasing concentration of Cu2+in the samples, as well as a reduction in the hyperfine magnetic field, which was more significant in the octahedral sites than tetrahedral sites. The broadening of the Mossbauer spectral lines was more significant for the octahedral sub spectrum than for the tetrahedral sub spectrum. Our study points that Cu2+ occupies preferentially the octahedral sites, where it substitutes Fe2+ species, generating broadening in the lines of the octahedral sub spectrum and a reduction in the probability of having nuclear resonant absorption of Mossbauer gamma rays in the samples.