A5e Mossbauer study of a new series of rare-earth iron nitrides: R2Fe17N3- delta

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Abstract
57Fe Mossbauer spectra have been obtained at room temperature and at 15 K for R2Fe17 and R2Fe17N3- delta ( delta approximately=0.4) with R identical to Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Lu and Y. The easy direction of magnetization of the R2Fe17 compounds can be identified by analysis of the hyperfine field and quadrupole interactions. For rare-earth elements with J>3, the sixth-order crystal-field parameter B66 determines the easy magnetization direction in the basal plane. In the nitrides, the average hyperfine field at 15 K increases by approximately 13% above the value in the parent compounds, from about 31 to 35 T, and it is anisotropic, being greatest when the magnetization lies along the c-axis. There is also an increase in the isomer shift of 0.12(2) mm s-1. Spin reorientation transitions occur in the nitrides of Er and Tm; only the samarium nitride has an easy c-axis at room temperature, but Sm, Er and Tm all have easy c-axis magnetic structures at 15 K.