57Fe Mössbauer study of Lu2Fe3Si5 iron silicide superconductor

• 57Fe57Fe Móssbauer spectroscopy measurements performed on Lu2Fe3Si5 superconductor between 4.5 K and room temperature.
• Temperature dependence of hyperfine parameters is determined.
• Debye temperature obtained from hyperfine parameters and specific heat capacity compared.
• No anomalies in hyperfine parameters associated with superconducting transition observed.

With the advent of Fe–As based superconductivity it has become important to study how superconductivity manifests itself in details of 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy of conventional, Fe-bearing superconductors. To this end, the iron-based superconductor Lu2Fe3Si5 has been studied by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy over the temperature range from 4.4 K to room temperature with particular attention to the region close to the superconducting transition temperature (Tc=6.1 K). Consistent with the two crystallographic sites for Fe in this structure, the observed spectra appear to have a pattern consisting of two doublets over the whole temperature range. The value of Debye temperature was estimated from temperature dependence of the isomer shift and the total spectral area and compared with the specific heat capacity data. Neither abnormal behavior of the hyperfine parameters at or near Tc, nor phonon softening were observed.