Dresden 2009 – scientific programme
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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 3: Magnetic Half Metals and Oxides
MA 3.5: Talk
Monday, March 23, 2009, 12:00–12:15, HSZ 401
Photolitchemically deposited amorphous iron(III) oxide exhibiting room-temperature ferromagnetism — •Simon Trudel1,2 and Ross H. Hill1 — 14D LABS and Department of Chemistry, Burnaby, BC, Canada — 2Now at FB Physik and Forschungszentrum OPTIMAS, TU Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
There is great interest in the study of new materials that exhibit useful ferromagnetic properties, while they are expected to be non-magnetic. A surprising example is amorphous iron oxide (a-Fe2O3), for which room temperature ferromagnetism (FM) has never been reported.
Thin films of a-Fe2O3 were prepared using a photochemical deposition method that allows direct patterning, without the use of photoresists. This method relies on light-induced decomposition of Fe(iii) 2-ethylhexanoate, which can be spin-coated as high-quality thin films. Upon exposure to light, the precursor decomposes, yielding a-Fe2O3. The a-Fe2O3 thin films were found to exhibit FM at room temperature. Prior to this work, no magnetic amorphous iron oxide had previously been reported (J. Phys. Chem. B 111 (2007) 4003).
The FM in these films can be tuned by changing the preparation conditions, and complete deactivation of the FM can be achieved by changing the deposition temperature. The oxidation state and coordination of the Fe centers in a-Fe2O3 were detemined using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. It will be shown this route to amorphous magnetic oxide materials is general, and that a-Cr2O3 and a-CoFe2O4 also exhibit unprecedented room-temperature FM.