Mössbauer Study of Two Discernable Fe Sites in CaFe₂O₄

Structural and magnetic properties of polycrystalline $CaFe_2O_4$ prepared by the solid state reaction method were studied using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and $M{\ddot{o}}ssbauer$ spectroscopy. The structure of $CaFe_2O_4$ belongs to an orthorhombic system (space group: Pnma) with the lattice parameters $a=9.2373\;{\AA}$, $b=3.0237\;{\AA}$, and $c=10.7124\;{\AA}$. Results of structural refinement indicate, however, that there are two slightly different iron sites in the sample. The $M{\ddot{o}}ssbauer$ spectrum at 4.2 K shows a hyperfine sextet with a hyperfine magnetic field and an isomer shift of 47.3 T and 0.36 mm/s, respectively. An examination of the spectrum revealed that the line widths of the spectral lines were not uniform. The degree of asymmetric line broadening decreases with increasing temperature, suggesting that the difference in the degree of crystalline distortions between two $FeO_6$ octahedra is eliminated as the temperature rises.