Powder diffraction analysis of an interstratified marcasite/pyrite structure

A synthetic catalyst precursor formed by sulfiding ferrihydrite (Fe3+O(OH)) in the presence of a hydrogen donor produces X-ray diffraction patterns resembling a mixture of both naturally occurring FeS2 polymorphs marcasite and pyrite. The diffraction peaks display a differential broadening, however, wherein only those peaks coincident to both marcasite and pyrite are strong and sharp, a feature that cannot be accounted for by a simple physical mixture. The broadening is analogous to that found in hexagonal cobalt, where occasional stacking faults produce interstratification of the hexagonal and cubic close-packed forms, resulting in strongly coherent diffraction only along the stacking direction. The crystal structures of marcasite and pyrite are virtually identical if viewed perpendicular to the (101) and (001) planes, respectively. Calculation of diffraction patterns based upon models of interstratifying marcasite and pyrite layers along these planes demonstrates that a sequence with marcasite-to-pyrite and pyrite-to-marcasite stacking fault probabilities of 0.22 provides a good fit to the experimental pattern. This interstratified material is a precursor to a species that shows catalytic activity for cleaving C-C bonds between aromatic rings and benzylic carbon atoms at low (<350 °C) temperatures.