Abstract:
The room-temperature X-band EPR of a natural zircon crystal before and after heat
treatments at 600, 700, 800, 900, and 1000°C in flowing oxygen, each for 6 hours, were
investigated with the applied magnetic field direction approximately both perpendicular
to the [100] and [001] directions. The obtained spectra originated from microwave energy
absorptions due to the transitions between the spin states of gadolinium ions (Gd3+: S =
7/2), which were impure ions in the crystal. This fact was confirmed by the fine structure
of Gd3+ and the weak hyperfine structures of its two odd isotopes: 155Gd (I = 3/2) and
157Gd (I = 3/2). Angular variation of the peak positions reflected that the symmetry of the
surroundings around Gd3+ is D2d. Hence, Gd3+ has replaced Zr4+ in the lattice. An
appropriate spin Hamiltonian could be used for describing EPR spectra and the spin
Hamiltonian parameters were optimized by the least-square method. The energy levels of
Gd3+ were also calculated by diagonalizing the spin Hamiltonian matrix. The optimized
parameters provided a good fit between the experimental peak positions and the
calculated ones. The calculated zero-field levels splittings varied with the different heat
treatment temperatures and reached their minimum magnitudes in the zircon heat-treated
at 800°C. This indicated that the minimum crystal field effect was obtained at this
temperature.
Rietveld refinements of XRD patterns of zircon powder sample showed that the
natural zircon remained in the tetragonal phase of the space group I41/amd after the heat
treatments but the unit cell parameters were changed. The tetragonality (c/a) was almost
constant and this indicated that the change of parameter a was proportional to the change
of parameter c. The maximum stretching of the bond distances between Zr (or Gd) and O
was obtained from the sample heat-treated at 800°C. This resulted in the minimum crystal
field effect on Gd3+ in the zircon lattice. The zircon crystal samples changed from dark
brown to colors which varied from red to yellow after the heat treatments. From the color
index measurements, the samples became yellower and brighter and some of them were
almost colorless. The observed color change might be due to the change of the crystal
field geometry around Gd3+ by the effect of the heat treatments. Since the crystal field
geometry directly affected the energy levels of Gd3+ and also the transitions due to the
absorbed photon energy within the range of visible-light radiation, the wavelengths at
which the absorptions (also the reflections) occurred should be shifted and thus explains
why the observed color was altered.