Probable hole-doped superconductivity without apical oxygens in (Ca, Na)2CuO2CI2

Pinalites: Optical Properties and Quantum Magnetism of Heteroanionic A3MO5X2 Compounds

Heteroanionic compounds, which contain two or more types of anions, have emerged as a promising class of materials with diverse properties and functionalities. In this paper, I review the experimental findings on Ca3ReO5Cl2 and related compounds that exhibit remarkable pleochroism and novel quantum magnetism. I discuss how the heteroanionic coordination affects the optical and magnetic properties by modulating the d-orbital states of the transition metal ions. Subsequently, I compare these materials with other heteroanionic and monoanionic compounds and highlight the potential of A3MO5X2 materials for future exploration of materials and phenomena.

Ca2CuO2Cl2, a redetermination from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data

The crystal structure of Ca2CuO2Cl2, dicalcium oxidocuprate(II) dichloride, was redetermined on the basis of single-crystal X-ray diffraction data using a laboratory Mo anode. Previous structure determinations based on single-crystal X-ray data [Grande & Müller-Buschbaum (1977). Z. Anorg. Allg. Chem. 429, 88–90], powder X-ray diffraction data [Yamada et al. (2005). Phys. Rev. B, 72, 224503–1–5] or neutron diffraction data [Argyriou et al. (1995). Phys. Rev. B, 51, 8434–8437] were confirmed. The present study allowed the refinement of anisotropic displacement parameters for all crystallographic sites, accompanied with higher accuracy and precision for bond lengths and angles. The layered title compound comprises of [CuO4] square-planar and [CaO4Cl4] square-antiprismatic coordination polyhedra, and is the undoped parent compound of a high-temperature superconducting cuprate.

Expanding frontiers in materials chemistry and physics with multiple anions

During the last century, inorganic oxide compounds laid foundations for materials synthesis, characterization, and technology translation by adding new functions into devices previously dominated by main-group element semiconductor compounds. Today, compounds with multiple anions beyond the single-oxide ion, such as oxyhalides and oxyhydrides, offer a new materials platform from which superior functionality may arise. Here we review the recent progress, status, and future prospects and challenges facing the development and deployment of mixed-anion compounds, focusing mainly on oxide-derived materials. We devote attention to the crucial roles that multiple anions play during synthesis, characterization, and in the physical properties of these materials. We discuss the opportunities enabled by recent advances in synthetic approaches for design of both local and overall structure, state-of-the-art characterization techniques to distinguish unique structural and chemical states, and chemical/physical properties emerging from the synergy of multiple anions for catalysis, energy conversion, and electronic materials.

Observation of Anion Order in Pb2Ti4O9F2

The observation of anion order is indispensable for the investigation of oxyfluorides. However, the negligible contrast between O(2-) and F(-) in both X-ray and neutron diffraction obscures the distinct anion sites for Rietveld refinement. Therefore, the difference in the chemical bonding of M-O(2-) and M-F(-) is the key to determining anion order. In this study, bond-valence-sum calculations and determination of the electron density distribution by the maximum entropy method illustrated anion order in the newly synthesized oxyfluoride Pb2Ti4O9F2. These results demonstrate a promising method to determine anion order in mixed anion systems.

New members of layered oxychloride perovskites with square planar coordination: Sr2MO2Cl2 (M = Mn, Ni) and Ba2PdO2Cl2

We have demonstrated high-pressure syntheses of Ruddlesden–Popper type layered oxychloride perovskites, Sr₂MnO₂Cl₂, Sr₂NiO₂Cl₂ and Ba₂PdO₂Cl₂, with a square planar coordination around the transition metal centres.

Visualizing the atomic-scale electronic structure of the Ca2CuO2Cl2 Mott insulator

Although the mechanism of superconductivity in the cuprates remains elusive, it is generally agreed that at the heart of the problem is the physics of doped Mott insulators. A crucial step for solving the high temperature superconductivity puzzle is to elucidate the electronic structure of the parent compound and the behaviour of doped charge carriers. Here we use scanning tunnelling microscopy to investigate the atomic-scale electronic structure of the Ca(2)CuO(2)Cl(2) parent Mott insulator of the cuprates. The full electronic spectrum across the Mott-Hubbard gap is uncovered for the first time, which reveals the particle-hole symmetric and spatially uniform Hubbard bands. Defect-induced charge carriers are found to create broad in-gap electronic states that are strongly localized in space. We show that the electronic structure of pristine Mott insulator is consistent with the Zhang-Rice singlet model, but the peculiar features of the doped electronic states require further investigations.

Status of trivalent copper and charge-transfer excitons in high-TC cuprates

A chemical bonding approach based on tight-binding cluster and band calculations, taking into account on-site Coulomb repulsion (Hubbard U parameter) to differentiate doubly and singly occupied states, was applied to high- T C superconducting cuprates and related compounds. This work provides rational insight and explanations for issues such as (i) the actual oxidation number Cu (I+) for formally trivalent copper in oxides such as La 2Li 1/2Cu 1/2O 4, (ii) the dominant oxygen character of the doping holes in (CuO 2) ( n- ) planes, (iii) the Mott-Hubbard character of the insulator-to-metal transition triggered by hole doping, leading to an oxygen-to-copper charge transfer of avalanche type, (iv) the occurrence of an excitonic phase with anisotropic Frenkel-type excitons, (v) the role of Coulomb interactions between excitons and between doping holes and their exciton surroundings, and (vi) the on-time pairing of doping holes by means of an "excitonic glue".

Imaging nanoscale electronic inhomogeneity in the lightly doped Mott insulator Ca(2-x)NaxCuO2Cl2

The spatial variation of electronic states was imaged in the lightly doped Mott insulator Ca(2-x)NaxCuO2Cl2 using scanning tunneling microscopy or spectroscopy. We observed nanoscale domains with a high local density of states within an insulating background. The observed domains have a characteristic length scale of 2 nm (approximately 4-5a, a: lattice constant) with preferred orientations along the tetragonal [100] direction. We argue that such spatially inhomogeneous electronic states are inherent to slightly doped Mott insulators and play an important role for the insulator to metal transition.

A ‘checkerboard’ electronic crystal state in lightly hole-doped Ca2-xNaxCuO2Cl2

The phase diagram of hole-doped copper oxides shows four different electronic phases existing at zero temperature. Familiar among these are the Mott insulator, high-transition-temperature superconductor and metallic phases. A fourth phase, of unknown identity, occurs at light doping along the zero-temperature bound of the 'pseudogap' regime. This regime is rich in peculiar electronic phenomena, prompting numerous proposals that it contains some form of hidden electronic order. Here we present low-temperature electronic structure imaging studies of a lightly hole-doped copper oxide: Ca2-xNaxCuO2Cl2. Tunnelling spectroscopy (at energies |E| > 100 meV) reveals electron extraction probabilities greatly exceeding those for injection, as anticipated for a doped Mott insulator. However, for |E| < 100 meV, the spectrum exhibits a V-shaped energy gap centred on E = 0. States within this gap undergo intense spatial modulations, with the spatial correlations of a four CuO2-unit-cell square 'checkerboard', independent of energy. Intricate atomic-scale electronic structure variations also exist within the checkerboard. These data are consistent with an unanticipated crystalline electronic state, possibly the hidden electronic order, existing in the zero-temperature pseudogap regime of Ca2-xNaxCuO2Cl2.

Growth of Na-doped Ca(2)CuO(2)Cl(2) single crystals under high pressures of several GPa

Single crystals of Na-doped Ca(2)CuO(2)Cl(2) have been grown for the first time by a flux method under high pressures of up to 5.5 GPa. By changing the Na-solubility limit through the applied pressure, the Na content x was successfully controlled without introducing appreciable compositional inhomogeneity within the millimeter-sized crystals. Structural and chemical characterization indicated that the crystals span the phase diagram continuously from the parent antiferromagnetic insulator to an underdoped high-temperature superconductor. Because of the well-defined cleavage plane and resulting high surface quality, these oxychloride single crystals will provide a unique opportunity to explore the electronic evolution of the high-temperature superconductors, using spectroscopic techniques such as scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.

Anionic templating: synthesis, structure, and characterization of novel three-dimensional mixed-metal oxychlorides Te(4)M(3)O(15).Cl (M = Nb(5+) or Ta(5+))

Two new three-dimensional oxychlorides are reported, Te(4)M(3)O(15).Cl (M = Nb(5+) or Ta(5+)). The isostructural materials were synthesized by chemical transport reactions utilizing TeO(2), M(2)O(5), and MCl(5) (M = Nb(5+) or Ta(5+)) as reagents. The compounds exhibit a three-dimensional cationic tunnel framework, with Cl(-) anions occupying the tunnels. Crystal data: monoclinic, space group C2/c, a = 18.9944(7) A, b = 7.8314(3) A, c = 21.1658(8) A, beta = 116.6400(10) degrees, Z = 8 (T = 295 K).

Construction of copper halide networks within layered perovskites. Syntheses and characterization of new low-temperature copper oxyhalides

The construction of two-dimensional (2D) copper halide networks within a variety of perovskite hosts by a low-temperature topochemical method is demonstrated. Ion exchange between some layered perovskite oxides of the type A'[An - 1(M,M')nO3n + 1] (A' = alkali metal, H, NH4; A = alkaline earth, rare earth, or Bi; M,M' = Nb, Ta, Ti; n = 2, 3) with CuX2 (X = Cl, Br) results in the oxyhalides (CuX)[An - 1(M,M')nO3n + 1]. Rietveld refinements from X-ray powder diffraction data show that the structures of these new copper oxyhalides contain edge-sharing CuO2X4 octahedra sandwiched between the M/M'O6 octahedra of the perovskite slabs. The compounds are low-temperature phases that decompose well below 700 degrees C. The copper oxyhalides exhibit antiferromagnetic ordering resulting from the magnetic exchange interactions within the planar Cu-X networks.