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 57 Fe Mo¨ssbauer 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 Mo¨ssbauer 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.