Mössbauer study of the temperature dependence of electron delocalization in mixed valence freudenbergite

The evolution of the electron delocalization in the ferrous subspectra in a sample of mixed valence ferrous‐ferric freudenbergite has been followed by Mössbauer spectroscopy from 6 K to 650 K. The spectral changes do not involve the ferric component, leading to the conclusion that it is due to a thermally driven delocalization of the sixth d‐electron on the ferrous ions. The phenomenon does not occur in samples of pure ferrous freudenbergite.