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Due to its rich variety of electromagnetic properties, such as a colossal magnetoresistance, charge and orbital ordering, and metal-insulator transition, the magnetic behavior in La0.5Ba0.5MnO3 double perovskite compounds has been investigated by several techniques, however more experimental data, especially from atomic resolution techniques, are still necessary to understand such complex behavior. In this paper, we have used a nuclear and short-range technique, the Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) spectroscopy, to investigate the magnetic hyperfine interaction at the 140Ce and 111Cd probe nuclei as impurities occupying La sites. This double perovskite samples were synthesized by Sol-Gel route. The crystal structure was determined by X-ray diffraction and the analyses showed that this method produced perovskite oxides with cubic structure in Pm-3m space group and the homogeneity was determined by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The local properties investigated by PAC spectroscopy revealed a ferromagnetic transition temperature above 300 K and a pure antiferromagnetic interaction below 100 K. Moreover, it also indicates an anomalous behavior of the temperature dependence of magnetic hyperfine field at La sites measured with 140Ce probe nuclei, which can be ascribed to the contribution of 4f band of Ce to Magnetic Hyperfine Field (Bhf) at low temperatures due to the increase in its localized character.Due to its rich variety of electromagnetic properties, such as a colossal magnetoresistance, charge and orbital ordering, and metal-insulator transition, the magnetic behavior in La0.5Ba0.5MnO3 double perovskite compounds has been investigated by several techniques, however more experimental data, especially from atomic resolution techniques, are still necessary to understand such complex behavior. In this paper, we have used a nuclear and short-range technique, the Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) spectroscopy, to investigate the magnetic hyperfine interaction at the 140Ce and 111Cd probe nuclei as impurities occupying La sites. This double perovskite samples were synthesized by Sol-Gel route. The crystal structure was determined by X-ray diffraction and the analyses showed that this method produced perovskite oxides with cubic structure in Pm-3m space group and the homogeneity was determined by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The local properties investigated by PAC spectroscopy revealed a fe...

In the work here reported, we have calculated magnetic hyperfine interactions in rare-earth (R) intermetallic compounds by using the free open-source all-electron ELK code. The RCd (R = Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb) series was chosen as a test system because an almost complete set of experimental data on the hyperfine parameters at Cd sites was acquired through the time differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC) spectroscopy as previously reported. Moreover, results on magnetic hyperfine field (Bhf) from WIEN2k code were also reported allowing a qualitative comparison analysis. We emphasize that the utilized version of ELK accounted for the contact field only. Yet, as it is the only contribution expected for Cd site in RCd compounds, the calculated Bhf values are in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. The Spin-orbit coupling when taken into account led to a decrease in deviation from experimental data. Addition, the Hubbard-like term was revealed crucial in order to make Bhf predictions for CeCd, suggesting that this behavior may be associated with a weaker 4f electron localization in Ce.

GdMnIn is reported to crystallize in the hexagonal MgNi2-type structure presenting a spin-glass behavior with no magnetic order attributed to the triangular spin frustration of magnetic ions. In the present work, FC-ZFC magnetization, specific heat and AC susceptibility measurements along with the local magnetic exchange measured by hyperfine interactions at In sites are used to investigate the magnetic behavior in GdMnIn compound. The ZFC-FC magnetization curves exhibit an inflection which was ascribed to the antiferromagnetic transition at TN= 145 K. These curves also give an indication of thermomagnetic irreversibility at 118 K, which along with the absence of inflection in specific heat results might be associated to spin-glass behavior. Results of AC susceptibility and magnetic hyperfine field measured using 111In(111Cd) probe nuclei carried out by perturbed angular correlations (PAC) technique did not show evidence of spin-glass behavior. The thermomagnetic irreversibility in FC-ZFC curves along with results of hyerfine interactions suggest the presence of magneto-crystalline anisotropy effects and a weak long-range coupling in GdMnIn.

Nanoparticles (NPs) that combine biocompatibility and enhanced physical characteristics for biomedical applications are currently an area of intense scientific research. Hafnium oxide NPs are an innovative approach in the anticancer treatment by radiotherapy due to their low toxicity and enhancement of local dose in the tumor reducing the total radiation dose for the patient. The combination of this property with the excellent magnetic hyperthermia performance of Fe3O4 NPs can produce a promising nanomaterial for cancer therapy. In this work, we attempted to synthesize nanoscale samples of HfO2 doped with nominal 10 at.% Fe, and Fe3O4 doped with Hf at 10 at.% level using simple chemical routes. The crystal structure of the samples was characterized by X-ray diffraction. The material was irradiated with neutrons in a research reactor, the nuclear reaction 180Hf(n, γ)181Hf yielding the probe nucleus 181Hf(181Ta) used in the perturbed angular correlations experiments to measure hyperfine interactions. Despite their immediate response to the external magnetic field, at local level both samples showed only electric quadrupole interaction typical of the monoclinic hafnia indicating that Fe replaces Hf in HfO2 NPs, but, rather than substituting Fe, Hf enters magnetite in the form of HfO2 clusters. Transmission Electron Microscopy was exploited to study the morphology of these complex systems, as well as to localize hafnia clusters and understand the nature of their coupling to Fe3O4 specks.

In order to understand the interaction mechanisms in RE2O3 (RE=Gd, Er) nanoparticles (NPs), Perturbed Angular Correlation (PAC) spectroscopy, a local technique, plus external magnetic field, was used to elucidate local interactions and possible mapping of the different contribution in these compounds. NPs were synthesized by thermal decomposition and characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. PAC measurements were performed using 111In(111Cd) as probe nuclei, with and without the application of an external magnetic field (EMF) of 0.5 T in different temperatures (50 K, 100 K, 200 K, 300 K). Results show that the hyperfine magnetic field is almost zero when the probe is located at the symmetric site, and ∼4 T and ∼5 T for Gd2O3 and Er2O3, respectively, when the probe occupies the asymmetric field.

LaMnO3+δ is a complex oxide, which, depending on the oxygen excess concentration, presents different crystalline structure and interesting magnetic and electric properties such as colossal magnetoresistance, polaron dynamics, multiferroic behavior, and charge-orbital ordering. This complexity requires different characterization techniques to draw a picture as complete as possible allowing a good understanding of these phenomena. Here, we have used the perturbed angular correlation (PAC) technique to measure hyperfine interactions at La and Mn sites of LaMnO3+δ(δ ∼0.15) using 140Ce and 111Cd at La sites as probe nuclei in order to investigate within an atomic scale the magnetic and electric interactions in this compound. The results show that 111Cd nuclei occupy highly symmetric local sites in agreement with a rhombohedral structure. The magnetic hyperfine field (Bhf) measured with 111Cd at La sites is very small (Bhf = 0.40 T) due to the supertransferred magnetic field from Mn neighbors through oxygen orbitals. On the other hand, 140Ce nuclei at La sites present a saturation field of around 3.7 T much higher than that expected for La sites (due to the weak transfer field by superexchange mechanism). In addition, for temperature range above the magnetic ordering (200-300 K) a dynamic hyperfine interaction was observed characterized by the attenuation parameter λ(T) whose temperature dependence allowed to determine the activation energy (Ea) associated to charge transfer. The polarization of the 4f-electron of Ce impurities affects the local magnetic field at impurity sites as well as the Ea.

Magnetic hyperfine field has been measured in the orthorhombic intermetallic compound LaMnSi2 with perturbed angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy using radioactive 140La(140Ce) nuclear probes. Magnetization measurements were also carried out in this compound with MPSM-SQUID magnetometer. Samples of LaMnSi2 compound were prepared by arc melting the component metals with high purity under argon atmosphere followed by annealing at 1000°C for 60 h under helium atmosphere and quenching in water. X-ray analysis confirmed the samples to be in a single phase with correct crystal structure expected for LaMnSi2 compound. The radioactive 140La (T1/2 = 40 h) nuclei were produced by direct irradiation of the sample with neutrons in the IEA-R1 nuclear research reactor at IPEN with a flux of ∼ 1013 n cm−2s−1 for about 3 - 4 min. The PAC measurements were carried out with a six BaF2 detector spectrometer at several temperatures between 10 K and 400 K. Temperature dependence of the hyperfine field, Bhf was found to be anomalous. A modified two-state model explained this anomalous behavior where the effective magnetic hyperfine field at 140Ce is believed to have two contributions, one from the unstable localized spins at Ce impurities and another from the magnetic Mn atoms of the host. The competition of these two contributions explains the anomalous behavior observed for the temperature dependence of the magnetic hyperfine field at 140Ce. The ferromagnetic transition temperature (TC) of LaMnSi2 was determined to be 400(1) K confirming the magnetic measurements.Magnetic hyperfine field has been measured in the orthorhombic intermetallic compound LaMnSi2 with perturbed angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy using radioactive 140La(140Ce) nuclear probes. Magnetization measurements were also carried out in this compound with MPSM-SQUID magnetometer. Samples of LaMnSi2 compound were prepared by arc melting the component metals with high purity under argon atmosphere followed by annealing at 1000°C for 60 h under helium atmosphere and quenching in water. X-ray analysis confirmed the samples to be in a single phase with correct crystal structure expected for LaMnSi2 compound. The radioactive 140La (T1/2 = 40 h) nuclei were produced by direct irradiation of the sample with neutrons in the IEA-R1 nuclear research reactor at IPEN with a flux of ∼ 1013 n cm−2s−1 for about 3 - 4 min. The PAC measurements were carried out with a six BaF2 detector spectrometer at several temperatures between 10 K and 400 K. Temperature dependence of the hyperfine field, Bhf was found to be a...

In this paper, the effect in structural and magnetic properties of iron doping with concentration of 20% in hafnium dioxide (HfO2) nanoparticles is investigated. HfO2 is a wide band gap oxide with great potential to be used as high-permittivity gate dielectrics, which can be improved by doping. Nanoparticle samples were prepared by sol-gel chemical method and had their structure, morphology, and magnetic properties, respectively, investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD), and magnetization measurements. TEM and SEM results show size distribution of particles in the range from 30 nm to 40 nm with small dispersion. Magnetization measurements show the blocking temperature at around 90 K with a strong paramagnetic contribution. XRD results show a major tetragonal phase (94%).

The magnetic properties of PrMn2Ge2 compound have been investigated by perturbed γ−γ angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy using 111In(111Cd) as probe nuclei as well as by magnetization measurements. This ternary intermetallic compound exhibits different magnetic structures depending on the temperature. The magnetic ordering is mainly associated with the magnetic moment of 3d-Mn sublattice but at low temperatures a magnetic contribution due to ordering of the magnetic moment from 4f-Pr sublattice appears. PAC results with 111Cd probe nuclei at Mn sites show that the temperature dependence of hyperfine field Bhf(T) follows the expected behavior for the host magnetization, which could be fitted by two Brillouin functions, one for antiferromagnetic phase and the other for ferromagnetic phase, associated with the magnetic ordering of Mn ions. Magnetization measurements showed the magnetic behavior due to Mn ions highlighting the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition around 326 K and an increase in the magnetization around 36 K, which is ascribed to Pr ions ordering.

The magnetic behavior of Gd2O3 nanoparticles, produced by thermal decomposition method and subsequently annealed at different temperatures, was investigated by magnetization measurements and, at an atomic level, by perturbed γ − γ angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy measuring hyperfine interactions at 111In(111Cd) probe nuclei. Nanoparticle structure, size and shape were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Magnetization measurements were carried out to characterize the paramagnetic behavior of the samples. XRD results show that all samples crystallize in the cubic-C form of the bixbyite structure with space group Ia3. TEM images showed that particles annealed at 873 K present particles with highly homogeneous sizes in the range from 5 nm to 10 nm and those annealed at 1273 K show particles with quite different sizes from 5 nm to 100 nm, with a wide size distribution. PAC and magnetization results show that samples annealed at 873 and 1273 K are paramagnetic. Magnetization measurements show no indication of blocking temperatures for all samples down to 2 K and the presence of antiferromagnetic correlations.

The magnetic hyperfine field (Bhf) in ferrimagnetic GdCo5 compound has been investigated as a function of temperature by Mossbauer effect (ME) spectroscopy and perturbed angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy using 119Sn and 111Cd probe nuclei, respectively. Results show that the non-magnetic probe atoms 119Sn and 111Cd substitute all three non-equivalent positions in GdCo5: Gd, CoI, and CoII. For 119Sn and 111Cd probes at Gd sites, the saturation magnetic hyperfine fields are very different with values of Bhf1 = 57.0(1) T and Bhf1= 20.7(1) T, respectively. For 119Sn and 111Cd atoms localized at CoI and CoII sites the magnetic hyperfine fields are practically identical and, in saturation, reach the values of Bhf2 = 11.6(1) T and Bhf2 = 11.1(2) T, and Bhf3 = 14.8(1) T and Bhf3 = 14.4(2) T, respectively.