Single crystal X-ray studies of cation-deficient magnetite

Abstract

Abstract Site preference of cation vacancy and the effect of cation deficiency on the structure parameters have been investigated for synthetic magnetite specimens by means of the single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. The cation vacancies are selectively formed at the octahedral cation sites even in the specimen quenched from 1793 K. The effects of cation deficiency are found as increase of atomic mean square displacements and decrease of anisotropy in thermal motions of the octahedral site cations.