Mössbauer and EXAFS studies of amorphous iron produced by thermal decomposition of carbonyl iron in liquid phase

Decomposition of iron carbonyl Fe(CO)₅ and Fe₂(CO)₉ in liquid phase gave amorphous and crystalline iron powders in the absence and presence of catalyst, respectively. The hyperfine fields were large in amorphous phases prepared from Fe(CO)₅ than from Fe₂(CO)₉. Crystalline iron, iron carbide and a trace amount of Fe₃O₄ were detected in the decomposition products of the amorphous phase prepared from Fe(CO)₅, and iron carbide was mainly included in the decomposition products of the amorphous phase prepared from Fe₂(CO)₉.