A structural, magnetic, and Mössbauer spectral study of several Na–Mn–Fe-bearing alluaudites

Abstract

The synthesis and the chemical, structural, magnetic, and Mössbauer spectral characterization of three synthetic alluaudites, Na₂Mn₂Fe(PO₄)₃, NaMn Fe₂(PO₄)₃ and Na₂MnFe^IIFe^III(PO₄)₃, and a natural sample with the nominal composition of NaMn Fe₂(PO₄)₃, collected in the Buranga pegmatite, Rwanda, are reported. All four compounds have the expected alluaudite monoclinic C2/c structure with the general formula [A(2)A(2)’][A(1)A(1)’A(1)₂”]M(1)M(2)₂(PO₄)₃ in which manganese(II) is on the M(1) site and manganese(II), iron(III) and, in some cases, iron(II) on the M(2) site. The X-ray structure of Na₂Mn₂Fe(PO₄)₃ also indicates a partially disordered distribution of Na^I and Mn^II on the M(1) and A(1) crystallographic sites. All four compounds are paramagnetic above 40 K and antiferromagnetically ordered below. Above 40 K the effective magnetic moments of NaMnFe₂(PO₄)₃ and Na₂MnFe^IIFe^III(PO₄)₃ are those expected of high-spin manganese(II) and iron(III) with the ⁶A_{1 g} electronic ground state and high-spin iron(II) with the ⁵T_{2 g} electronic ground state. In contrast, the effective magnetic moment of Na₂Mn₂Fe(PO₄)₃ is lower than expected as a result of enhanced antiferromagnetic exchange coupling by the manganese(II) on the M(2) site. The Mössbauer spectra of all four compounds have been measured from 4.2 to 295 K and have been found to be magnetically ordered below 40 K for Na₂Mn₂Fe(PO₄)₃ and ∼35 K for the remaining compounds. The Mössbauer spectra of Na₂Mn₂Fe(PO₄)₃ exhibit the two expected iron(III) quadrupole doublets and/or magnetic sextets expected for a random distribution of manganese(II) and iron(III) ions on the M(2) site. Further, the Mössbauer spectra of Na₂MnFe^IIFe^III(PO₄)₃ exhibit the two iron(II) and two iron(III) quadrupole doublets and/or magnetic sextets expected for a random distribution of iron(II) and iron(III) on the M(2) site. Surprisingly, the synthetic and natural samples of NaMnFe₂(PO₄)₃ have 19 and 10% of iron(II) on the M(2) site; apparently the presence of some iron(II) stabilizes the alluaudite structure through the reduction of iron(III)–iron(III) repulsion. The temperature dependence of the iron(II) quadrupole splitting yields a 440 to 600 cm⁻¹ low-symmetry component to the octahedral crystal field splitting at the M(2) site. The iron(II) and iron(III) hyperfine fields observed at 4.2 K are consistent with the presence of antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperatures in all four compounds.