The atomic structural arrangements of liquid iron oxides affect the thermophysical and thermodynamic properties associated with the steelmaking process and magma flows. Here, the structures of stable and supercooled iron oxide melts have been investigated as a function of oxygen fugacity and temperature, using x-ray diffraction and aerodynamic levitation with laser heating. Total x-ray structure factors and their corresponding pair distribution functions were measured for temperatures ranging from 1973 K in the stable melt, to 1573 K in the deeply supercooled liquid region, over a wide range of oxygen partial pressures. Empirical potential structure refinement yields average Fe–O coordination numbers ranging from ~4.5 to ~5 over the region FeO to Fe₂O₃, significantly lower than most existing reports. Ferric iron is dominated by FeO₄, FeO₅ and FeO₆ units in the oxygen rich melt. For ferrous iron under reducing conditions FeO₄ and FeO₅ units dominate, in stark contrast to crystalline FeO.

液态铁氧化物的原子结构安排会影响与炼钢过程和岩浆流相关的热物理和热力学性质。在这里，已经研究了稳定和过冷的氧化铁熔体的结构，作为氧逸度和温度的函数，使用了X射线衍射和带有激光加热的空气悬浮法。在广泛的氧气分压范围内，测量了总X射线结构因子及其相应的成对分布函数，其温度范围从稳定熔体中的1973 K，到深度过冷的液体区域中的1573K。通过经验性的潜在结构细化，在整个FeO至Fe ₂ O ₃区域内，Fe-O的平均配位数为〜4.5至〜5，大大低于大多数现有报告。在富氧熔体中，FeO ₄，FeO ₅和FeO ₆单元占主导地位。对于还原条件下的亚铁，FeO ₄和FeO ₅单元占主导地位，与结晶FeO形成鲜明对比。