Beta iron phthalocyanines (beta-FePc) oxygenated at low temperatures were investigated with the help of Fe-57 Mossbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The oxygenation of FePc complex is the key step in the pyrolysis of the flat layered molecules that yields acicular iron carbide particles encaged in uniform carbon shells. Mossbauer spectroscopy revealed that upon oxygenation of beta-FePc new species were formed which could be associated with (FePc)-Pc-III oxygen adducts in high spin and low spin states. The temperature dependent Mossbauer measurements showed the interconversion of the low spin species into high spin species upon raising the temperature.