Bridging the Salt-Inclusion and Open-Framework Structures: The Case of Acentric Ag4B4O7X2 (X = Br, I) Borate Halides

Inorg Chem. 2020 Mar 2;59(5):2655-2658. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c00306. Epub 2020 Feb 12.

Abstract

An acentric borate family, Ag4B4O7X2 (X = Br, I), has been prepared by slow cooling stoichiometric melts in evacuated silica ampules. Their crystal structure is comprised of two porous interpenetrating frameworks and demonstrates a further development of the "salt-inclusion" architecture toward a "covalent-inclusion" structure. The (Ag2X)+ sublattice shows strong anharmonic vibrations. Thermal expansion is strongly anisotropic because of the presence of condensed rigid kernite boron-oxygen chains aligned perpendicular to the c axes.