Abstract
We present results on the structural and magnetic properties of highly crystalline α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles of average size ∼200 nm, synthesized from a novel sol-gel method using metal alkoxide precursor. These particles are multi-domain, showing the weak ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic (WF-AF) transition (i.e., the Morin transition) at TM=256(2) K. Mössbauer measurements revealed a jump in hyperfine parameters (HP’s) at T∼TM, which also displays thermal hysteresis upon cooling or heating the sample. The analysis of HP’s as a function of temperature allowed us to discard temperature gradients as well as the coexistence of WF/AF phases as possible origins of this hysteretic behaviour. Instead, the hysteresis can be qualitatively explained by the small size and high-crystallinity of the particles, which hinder the nucleation of the WF or AF phases yielding metastable states beyond TM.
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75.50.Tt; 76.80.+y; 75.50.Ee
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Goya, G., Veith, M., Rapalavicuite, R. et al. Thermal hysteresis of spin reorientation at Morin transition in alkoxide derived hematite nanoparticles. Appl. Phys. A 80, 1523–1526 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-003-2381-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-003-2381-4