A Mössbauer spectroscopy investigation of SrFe1−xScxO3−δ perovskites

Polycrystalline samples of oxygen deficient perovskites SrFe1−xScxO3−δ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) have been synthesized by direct solid state reactions. Each compound has been stabilized with two different oxygen stoichiometries. The structural study shows, firstly, the good cationic homogeneity of the samples and, secondly, that the Sc and Fe atoms are randomly distributed over the same crystallographic site, whatever the scandium content. This implies that no anionic order is possible. A detailed Mossbauer spectroscopy study clearly shows that the substitution of scandium for iron involves an oxygen content decrease which decreases the tetravalent iron content until its total disappearance for x = 0.5. The evolutions of the isomer shift, the quadrupolar splitting and the relative intensity versus the Sc3+ content are depicted in the present paper.

Graphical abstractFigure 6. Isomer shifts (up) and Mössbauer relative intensities (down) versus scandium content of the contributions used to fit the spectra of the as-prepared SrFe1−xScxO3−δ samples.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide