The Chalcogenide Compound Fe₂SnSe₄: Synthesis and Crystal Structure Analysis by Powder X-ray Diffraction

Abstract

Fe₂SnSe₄ belongs to the adamantine family of quaternary chalcogenides crystallizing in the olivine type structure, which can be described from a hexagonal close-packing of selenium anions with the octahedral and tetrahedral sites occupied by the iron and tin cations, respectively. The structural characterization of the sample, synthesized by the melt and annealing technique, was carried out by powder X-ray diffraction at room temperature. The XRD data analysis shows, that Fe₂SnSe₄ adopt the orthorhombic olivine type structure, space group Pnma, and unit cell parameters a = 13.2019(3) Å, b = 7.6746(1) Å, c = 6.3572(1) Å, V = 644.11(2) ų were derived.

Keywords:
Chacogenides; Olivines; Chemical synthesis; Crystal structure; Powder X-ray diffraction; Rietveld refinement