Zinc ferrite forms the structure of a normal spinel, A mechanical activatio
n and a mechanosynthesis of zinc ferrite at room temperature lead to the fo
rmation of the metastable inverse spinel structure. The changes in the surf
ace structure of mechanically activated and of mechanosynthesized zinc ferr
ite as a function of the mechanical treatment time and the relaxation of th
e mechanically induced inverse spinel structure by thermal treatment in the
temperature range 800-1100 K have been studied using the ESCA method. The
surface structure of the mechanically disturbed zinc ferrite, compared to t
he bulk structures of the inverse and normal spinels, and the mechanically
induced increase in the reactivity are discussed. (C) 1999 Academic Press.