Synthesis and Structure of Ag₄Te(SO₄) – a New Compound Featuring a Silver‐Telluride Framework 

Abstract

Tetrasilver telluride sulfate was obtained as a black air‐stable polycrystalline powder; its structure was determined from X‐ray powder diffraction data. The new compound crystallizes in the cubic space group P213, with the unit cell parameter a = 8.6263(2) Å and Z = 4. The crystal structure of Ag4Te(SO4) is composed of a positively charged silver‐telluride three‐dimensional framework, in which the isolated tetrahedral SO42– anions are embedded. The framework features an irregular coordination for tellurium atoms with a coordination number of six and manifold Ag–Ag contacts ranging from 2.99 to 3.14 Å. The distortion of the SO42– anion as well as the interactions within the framework and between the framework and the SO42– anions are analyzed with the help of the structural data, vibrational spectra, and band structure calculations.