Thermal Decomposition of Ferric Oxalate Tetrahydrate in Oxidative and Inert Atmospheres: The Role of Ferrous Oxalate as an Intermediate

The thermal decomposition of ferric oxalate tetrahydrate Fe-2(C2O4)(3)center dot 4H(2)O was studied in dynamic oxidative and inert atmospheres by using a simultaneous thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analytical device equipped with an evolved gas analyzer (EGA). Solid-state decomposition products formed during the decomposition were analyzed by Fe-57 Mossbauer spectroscopy, in situ and ex situ X-ray powder diffraction, and magnetic measurements. In the dynamic inert atmosphere, we observed the formation of a tiny amount of superparamagnetic iron oxide (most likely Fe3O4) together with a majority of ferrous oxalate (FeC2O4) and remains of undecomposed Fe-2(C2O4)(3) after the first decomposition step, which finished at 210 degrees C. The astonishing presence of the oxidic phase at such low temperatures is a highly probable side effect of the main reduction action of the electrons on the Fe-III cations in the ferric oxalate structure, thus resulting in the creation of intermediate FeC2O4. The final product of decomposition of the FeC2O4 intermediate in a dynamic inert atmosphere is a mixture of wustite (FexO), alpha-iron (alpha-Fe), and magnetite (Fe3O4). Their proportion accurately reflects actual disproportionation/synproportionation/redisproportionation processes likely encouraged by the preserved size and morphology of the initial ferric oxalate crystals and that are dependent on temperature. In the oxidative atmosphere, the decomposition proceeds in the three overlapped stages that include dehydration, the astonishing reductive formation of FeC2O4 as an intermediate, and final decarboxylation to hematite (alpha-Fe2O3). The principal effect of the experimental conditions on the amount of intermediate formation of FeC2O4 in the oxidative atmosphere is also discussed and evaluated from the isothermal experiments carried out at 180 degrees C.