Refinement of the Crystal Structure of the Low-quartz Modification of Ferric Phosphate

Abstract

The structure of ferric phosphate at room temperature was refined on a Dauphiné-twinned crystal using full-matrix least-squares methods. The final R value was 0.078 for 487 symmetry-independent reflections whose intensities were corrected for twinning. The structure was found to be isotypic with AlPO4 (berlinite) with the space group P3121 and four formula units in a unit cell defined by a = 5.036(2) and c = 11.255(4) Å. The structure is also closely related to that of α-quartz with a nearly doubled c-axis because of the ordering of Fe and P atoms. The PO4 tetrahedron is almost regular with a mean P—O distance of 1.526 Å. The Fe3+ ion is tetrahedrally coordinated with an average Fe—O distance of 1.853 Å.