Structural and magnetic study of Fe-doped CeO2

We report the magnetic and structural properties of Fe-doped cerium oxide, obtained using the proteic sol–gel process. The samples had weak ferromagnetic behavior, with magnetization saturations of 0.05 and 0.10 emu/g for samples with 0.5% and 1% of Fe, respectively. We attribute this ferromagnetic state to the presence of dilute localized magnetic moments inside the semiconductor matrix. In fact, within the accuracy of our measurements, X-ray diffraction data reveal the formation of single-phase structurally isomorphous CeO2. Rietveld refinement carried out in Fe-doped samples showed a decreasing density of the unit cell. Furthermore, our analysis on the optical absorbance measurements and Raman scattering shows a change in the band gap of 0.18 eV and an increase in the oxygen vacancies, which was confirmed by Raman scattering peaks at 595 and 1176 cm−1.