Swift heavy ion irradiated spinel ferrite: A cheap radiation resistant material

摘要

Effect of (80 MeV) ~(16)O 6~+ ion irradiation on the structural properties and cation distribution of the as-burnt samples (i.e. the samples are without any thermal/sintering treatment) with the following compositions: MnFe_2O_4, Mn_(0.5)Zn_(0.5)Fe_2O_4 and ZnFe_2O_4 prepared by sol-gel auto-combustion technique have been studied through in-situ and ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Well characterized single phase MnFe_2O_4 and Mn_(0.5)Zn_(0.5)Fe_2O_4 samples were irradiated at fluence 1 × 10~(11), 1 × 10~(12), 1 × 10~(13) and 1 × 10~(14) ions/cm~2 to see the effect of the electronic energy loss induced changes in the structural properties and in cation distribution monitored through ex-situ XRD. ZnFe_2O_4 samples were irradiated with ion fluence values ranging between 1 × 10~(11) -2 × 10~(14) ions/cm~2 to observe the effect of in-situ XRD on structural properties and cation distribution. Results very clearly depict the redistribution of cations in the samples, which show noticeable changes in: ionic radii of A-site (r_A) and B-site (r_B), experimental and theoretical lattice parameter (a_(exp.), a_(th.)), unit cell volume (V), Scherrer's Grain diameter (D), oxygen positional parameter (u), tetrahedral and octahedral bond length (R_A, R_B), shared tetrahedral and octahedral edge (d_(AE), d_(BE)) and bond angles (θ_1, θ_2, θ_3, θ_4, θ_5). Results are interpreted in terms of irradiation induced changes in the above mentioned parameters.