High-temperature, high-pressure hydrothermal synthesis, characterization, and structural relationships of layered uranyl arsenates.

Five new uranyl arsenates, Na14[(UO2)5(AsO4)8]·2H2O (1), K6[(UO2)5O5(AsO4)2] (2a), K4[(UO2)3O2(AsO4)2] (2b), Rb4[(UO2)3O2(AsO4)2] (3), and Cs6[(UO2)5O2(AsO4)4] (4), were synthesized by high-temperature, high-pressure hydrothermal reactions at about 560 °C and 1440 bar and were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Crystal data for compound 1: triclinic, P1, a = 7.0005(3) Å, b = 12.1324(4) Å, c = 13.7428(5) Å, α = 64.175(2)°, β = 89.092(2)°, γ = 85.548(2)°, V = 1047.26(7) Å(3), Z = 1, R1 = 0.0185; compound 2a: monoclinic, P2₁/c, a = 6.8615(3) Å, b = 24.702(1) Å, c = 7.1269(3) Å, β = 98.749(2)°, V = 1193.89(9) Å(3), Z = 2, R1 = 0.0225; compound 2b: monoclinic, P2₁/c, a = 6.7852(3) Å, b = 17.3640(8) Å, c = 7.1151(3) Å, β = 98.801(3)°, V = 828.42(6) Å(3), Z = 2, R1 = 0.0269; compound 3: monoclinic, P2₁/m, a = 6.9783(3) Å, b = 17.4513(8) Å, c = 7.0867(3) Å, β = 90.808(3)°, V = 862.94(7) Å(3), Z = 2, R1 = 0.0269; compound 4: triclinic, P1, a = 7.7628(3) Å, b = 9.3324(4) Å, c = 11.9336(4) Å, α = 75.611(2)°, β = 73.136(2)°, γ = 86.329(2)°, V = 801.37(5) Å(3), Z = 1, R1 = 0.0336. The five compounds have layer structures consisting of uranyl square, pentagonal, and hexagonal bipyramids as well as AsO4 tetrahedra. Compound 1 contains chains of discrete uranyl square and pentagonal bipyramids, 2a contains three-polyhedron-wide ribbons of edge- and corner-sharing uranyl square and pentagonal bipyramids, 2b and 3 contain dimers of edge-shairing pentagonal bipyramids that share edges with hexagonal bipyramids to form chains, and 4 contains one-polyhedron-wide zigzag chains of edge-sharing uranyl polyhedra. The double sheet structure of 1 is new, but the chain topology has been observed in an organically templated uranyl sulfate. Compound 2b is a new geometrical isomer of the phosphuranylite group. The sheet anion topologies of 2a and 4 can be obtained by splitting the β-U3O8-type sheet into complex chains and connecting the chains by arsenates.