Room-temperature Ferromagnetism in Fe-doped Reduced TiO_2-δ

Abstract

Effects of oxygen deficiency on the room temperature ferromagnetism in Fe-doped reduced $TiO_2$ have been investigated by comparing the air-annealed $Ti_{0.97}Fe_{0.03}O_2$ compound with secondly post-annealed one in vacuum ambience. The air-annealed sample showed a paramagnetic behavior at room temperature. However, when the sample was further annealed in vacuum, a strongly enhanced ferromagnetic behavior was observed at same temperature. $M{\"{o}}ssbauer$ spectra of air-annealed sample at 295K showed a single doublet of $Fe^{3+}$, suggesting that the Fe ions are paramagnetic. On the other hand, the absorption spectra after vacuum-annealing exhibited two doublets, in which one is the same component with air-annealed sample and the other is new doublet corresponding to $Fe^{2+}$ state. This result suggests that the occurrence of ferromagnetism in reduced sample may be interpreted as the contribution of unquenched orbital moment of $Fe^{2+}$ ions.