Structural, magnetic, and Mössbauer effect studies of bornite

The results of a combined study of bornite with Mossbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and DC magnetometry are reported. The orthorhombic crystallographic structure of the mineral is observed at 15 K and 300 K. It exhibits an increase of the orthorhombic distortion with decreasing temperature. Magnetic susceptibility shows a Curie-Weiss like behaviour between 230 K and 380 K corresponding to the effective magnetic moment of 7.2(3) mi B per formula unit. The material undergoes a transition to an antiferromagnetic-like state at 75 K. Mossbauer spectra at the paramagnetic range are doublets with a small quadrupole splitting and the isomer shift corresponding to a high spin Fe3+ state. Upon magnetic ordering, a coexistence of the paramagnetic doublet with a broadened magnetic sextet is observed indicating an inhomogeneous character of the magnetic transition. The hyperfine field of 350 kOe at 4.2 K is much lower than that observed for a high spin Fe3+ in oxides (510 kOe) which is attributed to covalence effects and a possible copper contribution to the effective magnetic moment of the compound.