Rb₂CaCu₆(PO₄)₄O₂, a novel oxophosphate with a shchurovskyite-type topology: synthesis, structure, magnetic properties and crystal chemistry of rubidium copper phosphates

Abstract

Single crystals of Rb2CaCu6(PO4)4O2 were synthesized by a hydrothermal method in the multicomponent system CuCl2–Ca(OH)2–RbCl–B2O3–Rb3PO4. The synthesis was carried out in the temperature range from 690 to 700 K and at the general pressure of 480–500 atm [1 atm = 101.325 kPa] from the mixture in the molar ratio 2CuO:CaO:Rb2O:B2O3:P2O5. The crystals studied by single‐crystal X‐ray analysis were found to be monoclinic, space group C2, a = 16.8913 (4), b = 5.6406 (1), c = 8.3591 (3) Å, β = 93.919 (3)°, V = 794.57 (4) Å3. The crystal structure of Rb2CaCu6(PO4)4O2 is similar to that of shchurovskyite and dmisokolovite and is based upon a heteropolyhedral open framework formed by polar layers of copper polyhedra linked via isolated PO4 tetrahedra. The presence of well‐isolated 2D heteropolyhedral layers in the title compound suggests low‐dimensional magnetic behavior which is masked, however, by the fierce competition between multiple ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic exchange interactions. At TC = 25 K, Rb2CaCu6(PO4)4O2 reaches a magnetically ordered state with large residual magnetization.