Synthesis and structure of La<SUB>14</SUB>V<SUB>6</SUB>CuO<SUB>36.5</SUB>: a transparent Cu(I) vanadate containing [OCuO]<SUP>3-</SUP> sticks

The title compound, La14V6CuO36.5, was prepared from a stoichiometric mixture of La2O3, V2O5, and CuO at 1050-1080 ° C. The compound forms transparent, pale green crystals and was characterized by wavelength dispersive spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure contains isolated VO43- tetrahedra and [OCuO]3- sticks dispersed in a lanthanum oxide network. Films of La14V6CuO36.5 were grown on R-plane sapphire by using pulsed laser deposition. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction analyses of the films showed oriented growth of the title phase, a ~ 5 eV optical band gap and n-type conductivity. The compound is an example of a transparent copper(I) oxide