Mössbauer spectroscopy

The School of Physics has a very well equipped Mössbauer laboratory with eleven spectrometers including four liquid helium cryostats, a 14 Tesla solenoid, CEMS, furnace and three unique pieces of equipment for multiple spectrum acquisition.

Many of the projects in Mössbauer spectroscopy are in the area of mineral processing, particularly in gold extraction onto activated carbon and polyurethane foam, transformation of iron minerals during processing and the study of coal and coal products.

Magnetism is another long-standing research interest and current projects involve study of the mechanisms operating in exchange spring magnets made either as films by magnetron sputtering or as powder by ball milling. The magnetic properties of iron compounds also forms an important part of the identification of these materials in the mineral processing projects. These properties can change considerably with particle size and crystallinity, which is one of the reasons why Mössbauer spectroscopy is so useful in these studies.

Materials with nanocrystalline dimensions can have considerably different properties to larger particles and a recent interest has been in the study of oxides of three-dimensional transition metals produced by different methods and having nanocrystalline particles or phases.

For further information, please contact John Cashion (John.Cashion@monash.edu).