Preparation and Crystal Structure of Potassium Iron Hydrogen Phosphate,KFe3(HPO4)2(H2PO4)6 · 4 H2O

Single crystals of potassium iron hydrogen phosphate, KFe₃(HPO₄)₂(H₂PO₄)₆ · 4 H₂O, were prepared hydrothermally by heating a mixture of Fe₂O₃, H₃PO₄ and K₂CO₃ with a small amount of water. It crystallizes monoclinic, space group C2/c (N° 15 Int. Tab.) with Z = 4 and a = 1701(2), b = 960.4(5), c = 1750(1) pm, β = 90.88(7)°. The crystal structure was solved by using 1716 unique reflections F₀ > 4σ(F₀) with a final wR2 value of 0.126 (SHELXL-93). The main feature of the crystal structure are layers formed by PO₄-tetrahedra around the FeO₆-octahedra parallel to (001). K⁺ and H₂O molecules connect these layers. Effective Coordination Numbers (ECoN), Mean Fictive Ionic Radii (MEFIR), Charge Distribution (CHARDI) and the Madelung Part of Lattice Energy (MAPLE) are calculated for the title compound. The existence of hydrogen bonds is confirmed by these calculations.