Mössbauer and magnetic study of the antiferro to ferrimagnetic phase transition in Fe9S10 and the magnetokinetics of the diffusion of iron atoms during the transition

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Abstract
The antiferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic phase transition referred to as the λ transition in Fe9S10 has been explained by many workers on the basis of a structural change without any experimental evidence. Our Mössbauer and X‐ray diffraction results support Lotgering’s suggestion that the ferrimagnetism at about 493 K arises from the 4C superstructure. The antiferromagnetic to ferrimagnetic (λ) phase transition is explained in terms of a vancancy rearrangement. Using absolute reaction rate theory and measurements of magnetization as a function of time at constant temperature around the transition, coefficients of diffusion for iron atoms along the C axis have been determined over the range 440 to 484 K and found to be 10−18 cm2/sec.