A novel polymorph of RbCuCl3 (rubidiumcopper trichloride), denoted epsilon-RbCuCl3, has been prepared by chemical vapour transport (CVT) from a mixture of CuO, CuCl2, SeO2 and RbCl. The new polymorph crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group C222(1). The crystal structure is based on an octahedral framework of the 4H perovskite type. The Rb+ and Cl- ions form a four-layer closest-packing array with an ABCB sequence. The Cu-2+ cations reside in octahedral cavities with a typical [4 + 2]-Jahn-Teller-distorted coordination, forming four short and two long Cu-Cl bonds. epsilon-RbCuCl3 is the most structurally complex and most dense among all currently known RbCuCl3 polymorphs, which allows us to suggest that it is a high-pressure phase, which is unstable under ambient conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)529-533
Number of pages5
JournalActa Crystallographica Section C: Structural Chemistry
Volume74
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 May 2018

    Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry
  • Materials Chemistry

    Research areas

  • chemical vapour transport reactions, close packing, copper, crystal structure, hexagonal perovskites, high-pressure polymorph, polymorphs, Shannon information, structural complexity

ID: 32835771