Synthesizing layered material of FePS3 and its intercalation with pyridinum

Synthesising and characterizing of the FePS3 layered compound and its intercalation with pyridinium ion (pyH+) were studied. Well-crystallized material of FePS3 was formed. Full insertion of pyH+ was assured by X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Two phases were produced due to intercalation, phase A (d = 12.1 Å) and phase B (d = 9.7 Å). There is a phase transformation of phase A to phase B. As a result of intercalation, there was a change in symmetry of the host lattice from C2/m to R-3m. The intercalated compounds, phase A and phase B, could be described by a trigonal unit cell and the lattice parameters a = b = 3.5026 Å, and different values of the cell parameter c, which is lengthened due to increasing of the d-spacing (the interlayer space increases by 5.7 and 3.3 Å of phase A and phase B, respectively), and γ = 120°. Infrared spectra (IR) showed the presence of the strong peak of FePS3 at 570 cm−1, which was splitted due to complete intercalation to two or three peaks. As a result of elemental analysis, there is a loss of Fe2+ cations due to the intercalation process, and so the intercalated guest species must be mainly present as pyH+ to balance electrical charge (i.e. the intercalation of FePS3 with pyH+ is a non-redox intercalation).