Magnetism of nanostructured mechanically activated and mechanosynthesized spinel ferrites

New mechanochemical methods of material synthesis have received increased attention in recent years. The changes in the structure of the mechanosynthesized zinc ferrite (synthesized by the high-energy milling of the ZnO/Fe2O3 mixture) and of mechanically activated spinel ferrite (synthesized by the conventional thermal method, followed by mechanical treatment) as a function of the mechanical treatment time have been studied using the Mossbauer spectroscopy and electron microscopy. Attention is concentrated on the explanation and comparison of an origin of mechanically induced changes in magnetic properties of both the nanoscale mechanosynthesized and mechanically activated zinc ferrites. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.