Crystal structure, thermal behavior, electric and dielectric properties of a novel organic–inorganic hybrid compound based on iron (III) chloride

The current research work describes the preparation and characterizations of a new metal halide hybrid: (C₁₂H₁₄N₂O₂S)₂(FeCl₄)_1.5(FeCl₆)_0.5Cl·3H₂O Single crystals of the studied sample were grown by the solvent evaporation method. X ray diffraction results reveal that the new hybrid compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic system with Pnma space group. Raman and infrared spectroscopies confirm the presence of the functional groups of organic cations and the anionic entities. The thermal behavior was examined by TGA, DTA and DSC techniques. The UV–visible study of this new compound was also reported and discussed. The molecular arrangement can be described as alternating of organic cations and layers of anions linked together by hydrogen interactions. Hirshfeld surface analysis was carried out also to gain a quantitative overview of the non-covalent interactions. The results show that interactions dominating the structure are the H…Cl/Cl…H and O∙∙∙H/H∙∙∙O (about 67 %). The semiconductor character of this material was confirmed by AC conductivity measurements the values of which are of the order of 10⁻⁵ Ω⁻¹cm⁻¹. The low activation energy at low temperatures (0.32 eV) indicates the electronic conduction of this material.