On the analysis of the Mossbauer spectra of the rust converted by tannic and phosphoric acids

In previous work, we reported results on the action of rust converters based on a mixture of tannic and phosphoric acids, upon the rust formed on mild steel coupons. There, the rust before and after the application of converters were characterized by room-temperature Mossbauer spectroscopy, among other techniques. The present work is an extension of this one, and additional MS at 77 K, 130 K and 300 K for some samples are presented. Special emphasis is given to the methodology of analysis. Our results confirm previous findings that an important portion of the magnetite remains without conversion. New information was also derived: (i) the converters seem to affect more the magnetite octahedral (B) than the tetrahedral (A) sites; (ii) among the magnetite B sites, the Fe2+ is the most affected; (iii) at least 31% of magnetic goethite at 77 K is transformed by the converter; and (iv) the presence of an additional phase identified as ferrous phosphate, could be resolved unambiguously only at these lower temperatures.