Whiskers of Iron(II) (1-Hydroxyethylidene)diphosphonate and Its Complex with Morpholine

Abstract

The interaction of an aqueous suspension of fine-grained iron with one equivalent of (1-hydroxy-ethylidene)diphosphonic acid (H₄L) leads to the formation of poorly soluble iron(II) (1-hydroxy-ethylidene)diphosphonate (FeH₂L · H₂O), which precipitates from the solution in the form of whiskers. A compound consisting of crystalline and X-ray amorphous fractions, whose structure is based on stacked sheets of whiskers, linked by amorphous phase, was selected from the FeH₂L · H₂O reaction mixture with morpholine. The compounds have been studied by methods of elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis.