Investigation of the iron site localization in doped ZnO

Iron doped (5%) ZnO powders were prepared by hydrothermal and combustion methods. Subsequent heating treatments on these samples were performed under air and also under a reductive atmosphere. Powder XRD, Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetization studies were used to characterize the products and investigate the localization of iron ions in the ZnO lattice. It was shown that a mixture with a ZnFe2O4 type phase was obtained when the sample was prepared by the hydrothermal method, while Fe3+ occupy tetrahedral sites of the ZnO lattice in the case of the sample obtained by the combustion method. The magnetic measurements show that no ferromagnetism was detected in the iron doped ZnO compound, neither in the as prepared state nor after reduction.