A comparative study of hyperfine interactions in Aurivillius compounds prepared by mechanical activation and solid-state sintering

X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy techniques were used to study the structure and hyperfine interactions of multiferroic Aurivillius compounds Bi_m+1Ti₃Fe_m-3O_3m+3. Samples were synthesized by two methods, that is, the solid-state sintering at various temperatures and mechanical activation in a high-energy ball mill. The compounds were obtained from a mixture of three polycrystalline powder oxides, that is, TiO₂, Fe₂O₃ and Bi₂O₃. At room temperature, the Aurivillius compounds are paramagnetic materials with orthorhombic crystal structure. The c lattice parameter of the unit cell depends linearly on the m − number of layers with perovskite-like structure. Based on the Mössbauer studies, it is concluded that the hyperfine interactions parameters do not change with m number.