Synthesis of a new Moessbauer absorber

A method is developed for preparing Mg paraperiodate that consists of the oxidation by ozone of elemental I{sub 2} to iodic acid with subsequent preparation of Mg(IO{sub 3}){sub 2} and thermal decomposition of it to Mg{sub 5}(IO{sub 6}){sub 2}. This method enables semimicrogram quantities of the compound to be used and is directed toward the preparation of a {sup 129}I Moessbauer absorber. X-ray structural data are presented for Mg iodate and paraperiodate. A sample of formula 19MgO{center_dot}Mg{sub 5}(IO{sub 6}){sub 2} is prepared. Preliminary Moessbauer measurements with a source 2MgO{center_dot}Mg{sub 3}{sup 129M}TeO{sub 6} suggests that the paraperiodate has a singlet absorption and a relatively large Debye-Waller factor that depends weakly on temperature.