Mössbauer Study of Graphite-Containing Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Abstract

Graphite-doped hematite and magnetite nanoparticles systems (~50 nm) were prepared by mechanochemical activation for milling times ranging from 2 to 12 hours. Their structural and magnetic properties were studied by 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy. The spectra corresponding to the hematite milled samples were analyzed by considering two sextets, corresponding to the incorporation of carbon atoms into the iron oxide structure. For ball-milling time of 12 hours a quadrupole split doublet has been added, representing the contribution of ultrafine particles. The Mossbauer spectra of graphite-doped magnetite were resolved considering a sextet and a magnetic hyperfine field distribution, corresponding to the tetrahedral and octahedral sublattices of magnetite, respectively. A quadrupole split doublet was incorporated in the fitting of the 12-hour milled sample. The recoilless fraction for all samples was determined using our previously developed dual absorber method. It was found that the recoilless fraction of the graphite-doped hematite nanoparticles decreases as function of ball-milling time. The f factor of graphite-containing magnetite nanoparticles for the tetrahedral sites stays constant, while that of the octahedral sublattice decreases as function of ball-milling time. These findings reinforce the idea that carbon atoms exhibit preference for the octahedral sites of magnetite.