Moessbauer effect, X-ray diffraction and infrared studies of the effect of gamma irradiation on the molecular bonding of melanterite

Moessbauer effect (ME), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared (i.r.) measurements were performed on melanterite (FeSO4·7H2O) before and after irradiation to different gamma ray doses. The ME spectra and the XRD of the irradiated samples showed the gradual transformations of the initial phase and its radiolytic products. The changes in the frequency bands and force constants of the (Fe-O), (O-H) and (S-O) groups were followed by i.r. measurements. These variations were discussed, for Fe-O bonding, on the basis of the Fe-O bond length which was calculated from the isomer shift (IS) values of the radiolytic products. (author)