Example of unusual tetrahedral coordination of Cu(I) in oxides : Cu3VO4

• Published in: Solid state sciences Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 137 - 140
• Main Authors: BARRIER, N, HERVIEU, M, NGUYEN, N, RAVEAU, B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Elsevier 01.02.2008
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Exact sciences and technology; Inorganic compounds; Physics; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography; Structure of specific crystalline solids; Rietveld method; Order-disorder transformations; Space groups; Rietveld refinement; Tetragonal lattices; Oxide layer; X-ray powder diffraction; XRD; Electron microscopy; Coordination polyhedron; Thin films; Mixed layer; Copper Vanadates; Vanadium oxide; Copper oxide; Cu(I) tetrahedral coordination; Crystal structure
• ISSN: 1293-2558; 1873-3085
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2007.09.009

The crystal structure of the copper vanadate Cu3VO4, determined by X-ray powder diffraction, shows tetrahedral coordination of Cu(I) which is particularly unusual in oxides. Cu3VO4 presents a tetragonal unit-cell, isotypic to the famatinite Cu3SbS4, with the following parameters: a=4.57531(9)A; c=8.9918(3)A; space group I-42m. Its structure can be described as a three dimensional framework of corner shared CuO4 and VO4 tetrahedra, distributed in an ordered way and forming pure copper-oxide layers [Cu2O4]{infinity} alternating with mixed copper/vanadium oxide layers [CuVO4]{infinity}. In the latter one observes a 1:1 ordering of the CuO4 and VO4 tetrahedra forming [CuVO3]{infinity} chains running along the [110] direction.