Bi₃(PO₄)O₃, the Simplest Bismuth(III) Oxophosphate: Synthesis, IR Spectroscopy, Crystal Structure, and Structural Complexity

The bismuth­(III) oxophosphate Bi₃(PO₄)­O₃ was obtained by hydrothermal synthesis. The unit cell has <i>a</i> = 5.6840(6) Å, <i>b</i> = 7.0334(7) Å, <i>c</i> = 9.1578(9) Å, α = 78.958(2)°, β = 77.858(2)°, γ = 68.992(2)°, <i>V</i> = 331.41(6) ų, space group <i>P</i>1̅, and <i>Z</i> = 2. The crystal chemical formula that reflects the presence of oxo-centered tetrahedra and triangles is ^2D[O^IIIO^IV₂Bi₃]­(PO₄). The crystal structure contains [O₃Bi₃]³⁺_∞∞-heteropolyhedral corrugated layers parallel to (001), which alternate along [001] with isolated (PO₄) tetrahedra. The structural complexity parameters are <i>v</i> = 22 atoms, <i>I</i>_G = 3.459 bits/atoms, and <i>I</i>_G,total = 76.107 bits/unit cell, and thus Bi₃(PO₄)­O₃ is the simplest pure bismuth­(III) oxophosphate