Iron(III) sulfide, also known as ferric sulfide or sesquisulfide (), is one of the several binary

iron sulfide Iron sulfide or Iron sulphide can refer to range of chemical compounds composed of iron and sulfur. Minerals By increasing order of stability: * Iron(II) sulfide, FeS * Greigite, Fe3S4 (cubic) * Pyrrhotite, Fe1−xS (where x = 0 to 0.2) (monocli ...

s. It is a solid, black powder that degrades at ambient temperature.

Reactions

() decays at a temperature over 20 °C into

iron(II) sulfide Iron(II) sulfide or ferrous sulfide (Br.E. sulphide) is one of a family chemical compounds and minerals with the approximate formula . Iron sulfides are often iron-deficient non-stoichiometric. All are black, water-insoluble solids. Preparatio ...

(FeS) and elemental sulfur: : Fe₂S₃ → 2 FeS + S With hydrochloric acid it decays according to the following reaction equation:H. Roempp, ''Chemie'' (1997), S. 1099; : Fe₂S₃ + 4 HCl → 2 FeCl₂+ 2 H₂S + S

Greigite

Greigite Greigite is an iron sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the sulfur equivalent of the iron oxide magnetite (Fe3O4). It was first described in 1964 for an occurrence in San Bernardino County, California, and named after the mineralogis ...

, with the chemical formula , is a

mixed valence compound Mixed valence complexes contain an element which is present in more than one oxidation state. Well-known mixed valence compounds include the Creutz–Taube complex, Prussian blue, and molybdenum blue. Many solids are mixed-valency including ...

containing both Fe(III) and Fe(II). It is the sulfur equivalent of the iron oxide

magnetite Magnetite is a mineral and one of the main iron ores, with the chemical formula Fe2+Fe3+2O4. It is one of the oxides of iron, and is ferrimagnetic; it is attracted to a magnet and can be magnetized to become a permanent magnet itself. With the ...

(Fe₃O₄). As established by

X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angles ...

, the S anions form a cubic close-packed lattice, and the Fe cations occupy both tetrahedral and octahedral sites.>Vaughan, D. J.; Craig, J. R. “Mineral Chemistry of Metal Sulfides" Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 1978. .

References

{{Iron compounds Iron(III) compounds Sulfides Synthetic materials