A new quaternary layered transition-metal oxide, Na2Cu2TeO6, has been synthesized under air using stoichiometric (with respect to the cationic elements) mixtures of Na2CO3, CuO, and TeO2. Na2Cu2TeO6 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m with a = 5.7059(6) A, b = 8.6751(9) A, c = 5.9380(6) A, beta = 113.740(2) degrees, V = 269.05(5) A3, and Z = 2, as determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure is composed of infinity(2)[Cu2TeO6] layers with the Na atoms located in the octahedral voids between the layers. Na2Cu2TeO6 is a green nonmetallic compound, in agreement with the electronic structure calculation and electrical resistance measurement. The magnetic susceptibility shows Curie-Weiss behavior between 300 and 600 K with an effective moment of 1.85(2) muB/Cu(II) and theta(c) = -87(6) K. A broad maximum at 160 K is interpreted as arising from short-range one-dimensional antiferromagnetic correlations. With the aid of the technique of magnetic dimers, the short-range order was analyzed in terms of an alternating chain model, with the surprising result that the stronger intrachain coupling involves a super-superexchange pathway with a Cu-Cu separation of >5 A. The J2/J1 ratio within the alternating chain refined to 0.10(1), and the spin gap is estimated to be 127 K.

Using a combination of UV-visible spectroscopy and electronic structure calculations, we have characterized the electronic structures and optical properties of AWO4 (A = Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, or Mg) tungstates with the wolframite structure. In MgWO4 and ZnWO4, the lowest energy optical excitation is a ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT) excitation from oxygen 2p nonbonding orbitals to antibonding W 5d orbitals. The energy of the LMCT transition in these two compounds is 3.95 eV for ZnWO4 and 4.06 eV for MgWO4. The charge transfer energies observed for the other compounds are significantly smaller, falling in the visible region of the spectrum and ranging from 2.3 to 3.0 eV. In these compounds, the partially occupied 3d orbitals of the A(2+) ion act as the HOMO, rather than the O 2p orbitals. The lowest energy charge transfer excitation now becomes a metal-to-metal charge transfer (MMCT) excitation, where an electron is transferred from the occupied 3d orbitals of the A(2+) ion to unoccupied antibonding W 5d states. The MMCT value for CuWO4 of 2.31 eV is the lowest in this series due to distortions of the crystal structure driven by the d(9) configuration of the Cu(2+) ion that lower the crystal symmetry to triclinic. The results of this study have important implications for the application of these and related materials as photocatalysts, photoanodes, pigments, and phosphors.