Study and characterization of iron orthophosphate BaSb0.5Fe0.5(PO4)2

In this paper, we report the synthesis, structural, vibrational, and optical characterization of the BaSb 0.5 Fe 0.5 (PO 4 ) 2 compound, prepared via the conventional solid-state reaction method. X-ray powder diffraction analysis, followed by Rietveld refinement, revealed that the material crystallizes in the monoclinic system with the C 2/m space group and Z = 2, consistent with a yavapaiite-type structure. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to examine the microstructure and confirm elemental homogeneity. Raman and infrared spectroscopy were used to investigate the internal modes of the phosphate units, providing evidence for well-defined PO 4 3− tetrahedra and confirming the integrity of the crystal framework. UV–visible spectroscopy measurements indicated both direct and indirect optical band gap energies of 2.96 and 3.28 eV, respectively, suggesting that BaSb 0.5 Fe 0.5 (PO 4 ) 2 behaves as a semiconducting material. The combination of a well-ordered crystal structure, vibrational stability, and semiconducting properties highlights the potential of this phosphate-based compound for applications in optoelectronic devices and functional materials.