The Zn7-xNi xSb2O12 spinel phase shows important magnetic properties with a spin-glass behavior. As these properties are strongly dependent on the atomic configuration in the spinel structure, infrared spectroscopy and the structure refining by the Rietveld analysis have been studied. The infrared spectrum presents three to four of the common spinel active modes. The Rietveld analysis shows that Ni firstly substitutes for Zn in the octahedral site and, for large (x > or = 3) concentrations, migrates to the tetrahedral site. The indication of that migration is the splitting at approximately 520 cm-1, shown in the infrared spectrum when the nu 2 band is modified by the substitution of the divalent cation.
spinel; infrared; Rietveld method
