Synchrotron X-ray study of the electron density in α-Al2O3

Structure factors for synthetic haematite, α-Fe 2 O 3 , have been measured for two small crystals using focused λ=0.7 A synchrotron radiation. The structure factors from the two data sets are consistent. Approximate symmetry in the concordant densities, related more closely to the Fe-Fe geometry than to the nearest-neighbour Fe-O interactions, is similar to that in the corundum α-Al 2 O 3 structure. Deformation density maxima are located at the midpoint of the Fe-Fe vector along the c axis, on a common face for O-octahedra, perpendicular to c. Maxima also occur at the midpoint of the Fe-Fe vector bisecting the edges of the O-octahedra. These results are in accordance with theoretical predictions for metal-metal bonding