Studies on mixed metal(II)–iron(II) chloride systems. Part 3. Mössbauer and X-ray powder diffraction data on MxFe1 –xCl2·yH2O (M = Mn, Co, or Ni; x= 0.5 or 0.75; y= 4 or 6)

Abstract

The iron-57 Mössbauer spectra of the phases M_xFe_{1 –x}Cl₂·yH₂O (M = Mn, Co, or Ni; x= 0.5 or 0.75; y= 4 or 6) are discussed. The temperature dependence of the quadrupole splitting in the manganese material with x= 0.5 is fitted, to derive the crystal-field splittings; the other phases show similar Mössbauer parameters after ageing for three months, which allows development of the hexahydrate phase (y= 6). A different ground state is found to fit the data of the manganese material compared with iron(II) chloride tetrahydrate, and these results are discussed in terms of the increased lattice spacings found in the parent MCl₂.yH₂O crystals.