Swift heavy ion irradiated spinel ferrite: A cheap radiation resistant material

Effect of (80 MeV) 16 O 6 + ion irradiation on the structural properties and cation distribution of the as-burnt samples (i.e. the samples are without any thermal/sintering treatment) with the following compositions: MnFe 2 O 4 , Mn 0.5 Zn 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 and ZnFe 2 O 4 prepared by sol–gel auto-combustion technique have been studied through in-situ and ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Well characterized single phase MnFe 2 O 4 and Mn 0.5 Zn 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 samples were irradiated at fluence 1 × 10 11 , 1 × 10 12 , 1 × 10 13 and 1 × 10 14 ions/cm 2 to see the effect of the electronic energy loss induced changes in the structural properties and in cation distribution monitored through ex-situ XRD. ZnFe 2 O 4 samples were irradiated with ion fluence values ranging between 1 × 10 11 − 2 × 10 14 ions/cm 2 to observe the effect of in-situ XRD on structural properties and cation distribution. Results very clearly depict the redistribution of cations in the samples, which show noticeable changes in: ionic radii of A-site ( r A ) and B-site ( r B ), experimental and theoretical lattice parameter ( a exp. , a th. ), unit cell volume ( V ), Scherrer’s Grain diameter ( D ), oxygen positional parameter ( u ), tetrahedral and octahedral bond length ( R A , R B ), shared tetrahedral and octahedral edge ( d AE , d BE ) and bond angles ( θ 1 , θ 2 , θ 3 , θ 4 , θ 5 ). Results are interpreted in terms of irradiation induced changes in the above mentioned parameters.