Exceptionally high saturation magnetisation in Eu-doped magnetite stabilised by spin-orbit interaction

The significance of the spin-orbit interaction is very well known in compounds containing heavier elements such as the rare-earth Eu ion. Here, through density functional calculations, we investigated the effect of the spin-orbit interaction on the magnetic ground state of Eu doped magnetite (Fe 3 O...

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Published in:Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP 2021-09, Vol.23 (36), p.2129-2137, Article 20129
Main Authors: Assadi, M. Hussein N, Gutiérrez Moreno, José Julio, Hanaor, Dorian A. H, Katayama-Yoshida, Hiroshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cations
Chemical Sciences
Condensed Matter
Doping
Electron spin
Engineering Sciences
Iron oxides
Magnetite
Magnetization
Material chemistry
Materials
Mathematical analysis
or physical chemistry
Orbital stability
Physics
Rare earth elements
Saturation
Theoretical and
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Summary:The significance of the spin-orbit interaction is very well known in compounds containing heavier elements such as the rare-earth Eu ion. Here, through density functional calculations, we investigated the effect of the spin-orbit interaction on the magnetic ground state of Eu doped magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 :Eu Fe ). By examining all possible spin alignments between Eu and magnetite's Fe, we demonstrate that Eu, which is most stable when doped at the tetrahedral site, adapts a spin almost opposite the substituted Fe. Consequently, because of smaller spin cancellation between the cations on the tetrahedral site (Fe Tet and Eu Tet ) and the cations on the octahedral sites (Fe Oct ), Fe 3 O 4 :Eu Fe exhibits a maximum saturation magnetisation of 9.451 μ B per f.u. which is significantly larger than that of undoped magnetite (calculated to be 3.929 μ B per f.u.). We further show that this large magnetisation persists through additional electron doping. However, additional hole doping, which may unintentionally occur in Fe deficient magnetite, can reduce the magnetisation to values smaller than that of the undoped magnetite. The results presented here can aid in designing highly efficient magnetically recoverable catalysts for which both magnetite and rare earth dopants are common materials. The significance of the spin-orbit interaction is very well known in compounds containing heavier elements such as the rare-earth Eu ion.
ISSN:1463-9076
1463-9084
1463-9084
DOI:10.1039/d1cp02164h