Catalytic precursors: (Fe, Mn)₃O₄ and γ-(Fe, Mn)₂O₃

Iron-manganese oxide catalysts are known to influence the production of short chain hydrocarbons in the Fischer-Tropsch-synthesis process. XRD, XRF, gravity measurements and Mössbauer-effect spectroscopy has been used to study a catalytic precursor made by coprecipitation of iron and manganese oxides. The sample is characterized as a mixture of two compounds with the same iron to manganese ratio. The two compounds are cubic spinels with the same crystallographic parameters, however, one compound is a defect spinel while the other is not. In the Mössbauer studies the defect spinel shows superparamagnetic relaxation behavior-fluctuations of the magnetization vector along two opposite easy directions, while the non-defect spinel shows evidence of collective excitations-fluctuations of the magnetization vector in directions close to the easy direction. These properties are related to the particle sizes.