Determination of Mn valence states in mixed-valent manganates by XANES spectroscopy

Abstract

The valence states of Mn in mixed-valent layer and tunnel structure manganese dioxides (MnO2), usually referred to as phyllomanganates and tectomanganates, can be measured by X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy with a precision and accuracy that are difficult to estimate owing to the paucity of well-characterized standards. A compilation of the Mn K-edge XANES spectra of most naturally occurring manganates, synthetic analogs of known structure and chemical composition, and pure-valence phase species is presented and made available as an open source. We intend this compilation to serve as a basis for the spectroscopic determination of the fractions of the Mn 2+, 3+, and 4+ valences in mixed-valent manganates and phase mixtures. The XANES derivatives of tectomanganates and phyllomanganates with no or little Mn3+ in the MnO2 layer exhibit intensities, shapes, and relative energy positions of the main features characteristics of a particular valence composition. For these compounds, valence fractions can be derived using linear combination fitting analysis. Best quantitative results are obtained when the unknown spectrum is fit to a weighted sum of all reference spectra in the database with the fractions of species constrained to be non-negative (Combo method). The accuracy of the average valence is estimated to 0.04 v.u. in the range of 3+ to 4+, and decreases when the proportion of divalent Mn is higher than 15%. The accuracy of the method is also lower in (layer Mn3+, Mn4+) manganates, because the XANES features are affected non-additively by the amount and distribution of the Jahn-Teller Mn3+ cations. The merit of the Combo method for the determination of manganese valence sums relative to the methods based on calibration curves is discussed.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. American Mineralogist, 2012 · DOI ↗