Mössbauer Effect Study of V₂O₃

Abstract

Mössbauer measurements on Fe⁵⁷ doped in V₂O₃ were made in the temperature range from 4.2°K to 300°K. Above the metal-to-semiconductor transition temperature (∼140°K), the absorption spectrum was perfectly paramagnetic. On the other hand, below that temperature, there appeared a magnetic hyperfine splitting (400kOe at 4.2°K and 315 kOe at 131°K). This is concluded to be due to an antiferromagnetic order of V₂O₃ in the low temperature phase. The internal field abrupty disappeared at the transition temperature associated with the first order transition. From the temperature dependence of the internal field, the fictitious Néel temperature of the low temperature phase was deduced to be in the vicinity of 200°K. The valence state of doped Fe seems to be trivalent in both the phases.