Abstract
Two new orthophosphates, BaMn(2)Fe(PO(4))(3) [barium dimanganese(II) iron(III) tris-(orthophosphate)] and SrMn(2)Fe(PO(4))(3) [strontium dimanganese(II) iron(III) tris-(orthophosphate)], were synthesized by solid-state reactions. They are isotypic and crystallize in the ortho-rhom-bic system with space group type Pbcn. Their crystal structures comprise infinite zigzag chains of edge-sharing FeO(6) octa-hedra (point group symmetry .2.) and Mn(2)O(10) double octa-hedra running parallel to [001], linked by two types of PO(4) tetra-hedra. The so-formed three-dimensional framework delineates channels running along [001], in which the alkaline earth cations (site symmetry .2.) are located within a neighbourhood of eight O atoms.