Low temperature and in-field Mössbauer spectroscopic studies of ε-Fe3N particles synthesized from iron–citrate complex

The Mössbauer spectra of ε-Fe3N at 5 K show several sextets which indicate a disordered arrangement of nitrogen atoms. Even though the 5 K spectra hints out a distribution for the Fe atoms coordinated with two nitrogen atoms (Fe(II)), the in-field spectrum showed that the Fe(II) atoms are magnetically different. It is found that the arrangements of magnetic spins with the direction of easy magnetic axis are different for the two Fe(II) sites. In addition to this, the presence of an antiferromagnetic phase is revealed in an in-field Mössbauer spectrum at 5 K.