Synthesis and investigations on correlation between EPR and optical properties of Fe doped Li2SiO3

Abstract Iron doped lithium metasilicate sample was synthesized using a combustion technique and characterized by XRD (X ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), optical, and EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) analyses. The phase purity of the combustion synthesized products was confirmed by XRD analysis. SEM data suggested the formation of a porous compound by virtue of the entrapment of the gases that evolved during the sample synthesis. FTIR data confirmed the formation of Si O bonds in the system. Optical data confirmed the existence of both divalent and trivalent iron in the system. Characteristic absorption bands in the region 215–270 nm and 535–620 nm were observed due to the presence of Fe3+ in Oh and Td geometry respectively. On the other hand, the presence of bands at 967 and 1442 nm suggested the stabilisation of Fe2+ also in both Oh and Td geometries, respectively. The divalent iron being a non-Kramer ion, could not be observed by EPR. However, strong temperature-dependent EPR signals were observed in the sample owing to Fe3+. By analyzing the EPR data, super-paramagnetic type of behaviour was observed in the system. Furthermore, the relaxation times along with other EPR spectroscopic parameters were estimated for the system.