Nuclear and Magnetic Structures of K2NiF4-type Iron(III) Oxide Halides

Abstract

ABSTRACTK2NiF4-type iron(III) oxides show a very common form of magnetic ordering, XY antiferromagnetic ordering within the layers combined with layer stacking based on alignment of spins in alternate layers. The Ising antiferromagnet Ca2MnO4 has been reported to have a doubled c-axis (ca 24Å) in the magnetic structure and we have found a similar stacking in the XY antiferromagnet Sr2FeO3F. We show here that this unusual c-axis doubling is related to the exposure of the material to air and suggest that in both Sr2FeO3F and Ca2MnO4 it may be related to the occupation of interstitial sites.