Structural and magnetic properties of Fe–Ti–O solid solution prepared by ball-milling and post annealing

We investigate the structural and magnetic properties of a Fe–Ti–O system prepared by ball-milling and post annealing from γ-Fe2O3 and TiO2-anatase. From a systematic analysis of the structural properties, we show that our sample consists of a Fe–Ti–O solid solution, in which the Ti acts as dopant in the hematite structure. Moreover, by exploring distinct aspects of the magnetic behavior, we reveal that our sample presents a magnetic behavior that is strongly dependent on the temperature. Although the Fe–Ti–O solid solution carries the ordinary magnetic behavior expected for the hematite over most of the investigated temperature range, we verify quite-interesting features of magnetic origin taking place at lower temperatures. We interpret them as fingerprints of cluster spin freezing effect and provide experimental evidence supporting the existence of the glassy state below ∼51 K.