Dicobalt copper bis[orthophosphate(V)] monohydrate, Co2.39Cu0.61(PO4)2·H2O

Abstract

In an attempt to hydro­thermally synthesize a phase with composition Co2Cu(PO4)2·H2O, we obtained the title compound, Co2.39Cu0.61(PO4)2·H2O instead. Chemical analysis confirmed the presence of copper in the crystal. The crystal structure of the title compound can be described as a three- dimensional network constructed from the stacking of two types of layers extending parallel to (010). These layers are made up from more or less deformed polyhedra: CoO6 octa­hedra, (Cu/Co)O5 square pyramids and PO4 tetra­hedra. The first layer is formed by pairs of edge-sharing (Cu/Co)O5 square pyramids linked via a common edge of each end of the (Cu/Co)2O8 dimer to PO4 tetra­hedra. The second layer is undulating and is built up from edge-sharing CoO6 octa­hedra. The linkage between the two layers is accomplished by PO4 tetra­hedra. The presence of water mol­ecules in the CoO4(H2O)2 octa­hedron also contributes to the cohesion of the layers through O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding.