Evolution of crystallization and magnetic phase transition in Cu1-xZnxFe2O4 studied by neutron powder diffraction

Abstract

High resolution and high intensity neutron powder diffraction were applied to study the crystallographic and magnetic phase transition in Cu1-xZnxFe2O4 from 4 K to 750 K. Structural phase transition from cubic to tetragonal phase was observed in CuFe2O4. Ferrimagnetic order was observed in CuFe2O4 and short-range antiferromagnetic scattering was observed below 10 K in cubic ZnFe2O4 which is strongly restrained by addition of slightly amount of Cu2+ ions. Upon doping, ferromagnetic order temperature was gradually reduced from 789 K. Collinear spin setting was observed and no indication of frustration was found even up to doping rate of x = 0.6. Highly frustrated Cu0.04Zn0.96Fe2O4 and ZnFe2O4 behave short-range antiferromagnetic order, induced by the competing between ferromagnetic interaction from first-nearest neighbor and antiferromagnetic interaction from the third-nearest neighbor in tetrahedron formed by Fe ions on B sites. © 2021 American Physical Society