Ferrimagnetic clusters as the origin of anomalous Curie-Weiss behavior in ZnFe_2O_4 antiferromagnetic susceptibility

Different studies carried out in the last three decades on the magnetic susceptibility of the spinel ZnFe_2O_4 ferrite have revealed the positive character of its Curie-Weiss temperature, contradicting its observed antiferromagnetic behavior which is characterized by a well-defined susceptibility pe...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hernando Grande, Antonio, Cobos Fernández, Miguel Ángel, Jiménez, José Antonio, Llorente, Irene, García Escorial, Asunción, Presa Muñoz De Toro, Patricia Marcela De La
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/72009
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/72009
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:538.9
Magnetic-structure
Ferrite
Zinc ferrite
Curie-Weiss temperature
Inversion degree
Física de materiales
Física del estado sólido
2211 Física del Estado Sólido
Descripción
Sumario:Different studies carried out in the last three decades on the magnetic susceptibility of the spinel ZnFe_2O_4 ferrite have revealed the positive character of its Curie-Weiss temperature, contradicting its observed antiferromagnetic behavior which is characterized by a well-defined susceptibility peak centered around the Neel temperature (10 K). Some approaches based on ab initio calculations and mixture of interactions have been attempted to explain this anomaly. This work shows how for very low values of the inversion parameter, the small percentage of Fe atoms located in tetrahedral sites gives rise to the appearance of ferrimagnetic clusters around them. Superparamagnetism of these clusters is the main cause of the anomalous Curie-Weiss behavior. This finding is supported experimentally from the thermal dependence of the inverse susceptibility and its evolution with the degree of inversion.