New iron(III) phosphate phases: crystal structure and electrochemical and magnetic properties

Two new iron(III) phosphates, FePO(4), have been synthesized from the dehydration of hydrothermally prepared monoclinic and orthorhombic hydrated phosphates FePO(4).2H(2)O. The structures of both hydrates were redetermined from single crystal data. On dehydration, a topotactic reaction takes place with only those bonds associated with the water molecules being broken, so that both FePO(4) phases have essentially the same Fe-P backbone frameworks as the corresponding hydrates. They are, respectively, monoclinic FePO(4), space group P2(1)/n, a= 5.480(1) A, b = 7.480(1) A, c= 8.054(1) A, beta = 95.71(1) degrees, and Z = 4; and orthorhombic FePO(4), space group Pbca, a = 9.171(1) A, 9.456(1) A, c = 8.675(1) A, and Z = 8. Both of these phases are thermally unstable relative to the trigonal quartz-like FePO(4). The electrochemical studies find that the orthorhombic iron phosphate is more active than the monoclinic phase, while both are more active than trigonal FePO(4). Both phases approach Curie-Weiss behavior at room temperature, with the monoclinic phase exhibiting stronger antiferromagnetic interactions due to Fe-O-Fe interactions. The electrochemical and magnetic data are consistent with the structures of these two compounds. The properties of these new iron phosphate structures are compared with other iron phosphate phases.