The structure of H3O+-exchanged pharmacosiderite
AbstractThe crystal structure of H3O+-exchanged pharmacosiderite (pharmacosiderite is KFe4(AsO4)3(OH)4·nH2O, sensu stricto) has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and refined to R1 = 0.0418. H3O+-exchanged pharmacosiderite, (H3O+)Fe4(AsO4)3(OH)4·4.5H2O, is cubic, space group Pm, with a = 7.982(9) Å, V = 508.5(9) Å3 and Z = 1. The structure broadly conforms to that of the general pharmacosiderite structure type, with the hydronium ion generated by partial protonation of a site corresponding to a molecule of water of crystallization and its symmetry-related equivalents. In addition, the structure of a “pharmacosiderite” from Cornwall, United Kingdom, in which no alkali metals could be detected, has been re-evaluated and found to be consistent with that of the H3O+- exchanged structure. Its composition is (H3O+)Fe4(AsO4)3(OH)4·4H2O, with the partially occupied water found for the exchanged structure at (½, ½, ½) being absent in this case.