Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.33, No.16, 3595-3597, 1994
Ferric Phosphite - Dimers of Face-Sharing Fe(III)O6 Octahedra - Crystal-Structure Redetermination, Mossbauer-Spectra, Magnetic-Susceptibility, and Heat-Capacity Data
Synthesis, structural characterization, and physical properties of Fe2(HPO3)3 are reported. The structure establishes the phosphite anion as a bridging unit producing dimers of face-sharing Fe(III)O6 octahedra. The Fe2O9 units are interconnected by sharing common apices with HPO3 tetrahedra, resulting in a three-dimensional arrangement. These structural characteristics determine the physical properties of the compound. A weak antiferromagnetic exchange interaction in the dimeric entities and a three-dimensional ordering below 20 K of antiferromagnetic nature can be detected using Mossbauer, susceptibility, and beat capacity data.