Spinel-type Li0.64Fe2.15Ge0.21O4, lithium diiron(III) germanium tetra-oxide, has been formed as a by-product during flux growth of an Li-Fe-Ge pyroxene-type material. In the title compound, lithium is ordered on the octa-hedral B sites, while Ge(4+) orders onto the tetra-hedral A sites, and iron distributes over both the octa-hedral and tetra-hedral sites, and is in the trivalent state as determined from Mössbauer spectroscopy. The oxygen parameter u is 0.2543; thus, the spinel is close to having an ideal cubic closed packing of the O atoms. The title spinel is compared with other Li- and Ge-containing spinels.
Keywords: Mössbauer spectroscopy; crystal structure; geoscience; spinel.