Evidence of a cubic iron sub-lattice in t-CuFe2O4 demonstrated by X-ray Absorption Fine Structure

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-19045-8

Authors: Francesco Caddeo (University of Kent) , Danilo Loche (University of Kent) , Maria F. Casula (Università di Cagliari) , Anna Corrias (University of Kent)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Scientific Reports , VOL 8

State: Published (Approved)
Published: January 2018
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 11086

Abstract: Copper ferrite, belonging to the wide and technologically relevant class of spinel ferrites, was grown in the form of t-CuFe2O4 nanocrystals within a porous matrix of silica in the form of either an aerogel or a xerogel, and compared to a bulk sample. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy revealed the presence of two different sub-lattices within the crystal structure of t-CuFe2O4, one tetragonal and one cubic, defined by the Cu2+ and Fe3+ ions respectively. Our investigation provides evidence that the Jahn-Teller distortion, which occurs on the Cu2+ ions located in octahedral sites, does not affect the coordination geometry of the Fe3+ ions, regardless of their location in octahedral or tetrahedral sites.

Subject Areas: Chemistry


Instruments: B18-Core EXAFS

Documents:
s41598-017-19045-8.pdf