Preferential spin canting in nanosize zinc ferrite

•Spinel structure ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles in the uniform size range of 10.0±0.5 nm have been synthesized using the citrate precursor route.•Canting of the spins of A- and B-sublattice sites has been studied by low temperature and high magnetic field Mössbauer spectroscopy.•A-site spins are aligned antiparallel to the applied field with only small angular scatter.•B-site spins are strongly canted in contrast to earlier quoted only partial canting.•B site spin structure deviates significantly from a collinear antiferromagnetic arrangement.

Zinc ferrite nanoparticles powder with average size of 10.0±0.5 nm was synthesized by the citrate precursor route. We studied the structural and magnetic properties using X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry and Mössbauer spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the synthesized zinc ferrite possesses good spinel structure. Both Mössbauer and magnetization data indicate superparamagnetic ferrimagnetic particles at room temperature. The magnetic behavior is determined by a considerable degree of cation inversion with FeIII in tetrahedral A-sites. Mössbauer spectroscopy at low temperature and in high applied magnetic field reveals that A-site spins are aligned antiparallel to the applied field with some possible angular scatter whereas practically all octahedral B-site spins are canted contrasting some earlier reported partial B-site spin canting in nanosize zinc ferrite. Deviations from the antiferromagnetic arrangement of B-site spins are supposed to be caused by magnetic frustration effects.