Valence of manganese, in a new oxybromide compound, determined by means of electron energy loss spectroscopy

Abstract

2014 Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy, at Mn M2,3 and L2,3 edges is used in order to investigate the ionization state of manganese in a new oxybromide compound. The experimental procedure and the various approaches used to determine Mn oxidation state (edge energy shifts and L3/L2 ratios) are tested on a wellknown manganese oxychloride containing Mn2+ and Mn3+ cations. The comparison of the respective confidence limits of each approach shows that the best precision is obtained with the method based on the energy shifts of the Mn L2,3 edges. That experimental approach applied to the manganese oxybromide allows us to confirm that Mn4+ is present in this new compound and a reconstruction of the L2,3 white lines, using normalized standard spectra, seems to show the presence of three Mn oxidation states in the material.