Mossbauer studies in transition metal chemistry. II. Iron(III) methoxides and halomethoxides

M�ssbauer spectra are reported for a series of insoluble methoxide and halomethoxide complexes of tervalent iron which are known to exhibit pronounced antiferromagnetic interactions.1-3 The M�ssbauer study confirms that all the compounds contain high-spin iron(111) and that the reduced magnetic moments arise from antiferromagnetically coupled iron atoms within polymerized species. The quadrupole splittings which are due solely to lattice effects and anisotropic bonding are consistent with some of the previously proposed structures but definitely exclude others. It is concluded that the M�ssbauer data are better rationalized in terms of a three-dimensional layer structure in which the ratio of halogen to methoxide is progressively varied in a FeX3 lattice.