DESY News: Discovery of new iron oxides points to large oxygen source inside the Earth - Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY

Iron oxides in nature take on different forms. „The most common iron oxide is hematite, Fe2O3, which is the end product of many geological processes and the main source of iron for our civilization,“ explains Bykova. During the past five years, however, scientists have discovered other iron oxides like Fe4O5, Fe5O6, and Fe13O19 that form at high pressures and temperatures. Investigating the behaviour of hematite and magnetite (Fe3O4) further, Bykova and her colleagues used a special pressure chamber at DESY's measuring station for extreme conditions P02.2.