

Supporting information
![]() | Crystallographic Information File (CIF) https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600536813020151/hb7105sup1.cif |
![]() | Structure factor file (CIF format) https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600536813020151/hb7105Isup2.hkl |
![]() | Chemical Markup Language (CML) file https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600536813020151/hb7105Isup3.cml |
Key indicators
- Single-crystal X-ray study
- T = 298 K
- Mean
(Al-O) = 0.004 Å
- Disorder in solvent or counterion
- R factor = 0.034
- wR factor = 0.085
- Data-to-parameter ratio = 11.7
checkCIF/PLATON results
No syntax errors found
Alert level C PLAT202_ALERT_3_C Isotropic non-H Atoms in Anion/Solvent ......... 1 PLAT906_ALERT_3_C Large K value in the Analysis of Variance ...... 3.142 PLAT910_ALERT_3_C Missing # of FCF Reflections Below Th(Min) ..... 1 PLAT934_ALERT_3_C Number of (Iobs-Icalc)/SigmaW > 10 Outliers .... 1 PLAT976_ALERT_2_C Negative Residual Density at 0.89A from O11 . -0.60 eA-3
Alert level G PLAT004_ALERT_5_G Info: Polymeric Structure Found with Dimension . 2 PLAT005_ALERT_5_G No _iucr_refine_instructions_details in the CIF ? Do ! PLAT042_ALERT_1_G Calc. and Reported MoietyFormula Strings Differ ? Check PLAT083_ALERT_2_G SHELXL Second Parameter in WGHT Unusually Large. 24.91 PLAT302_ALERT_4_G Note: Anion/Solvent Disorder ................... 73 % PLAT811_ALERT_5_G No ADDSYM Analysis: Too Many Excluded Atoms .... ! Info PLAT912_ALERT_4_G Missing # of FCF Reflections Above STh/L= 0.600 4 PLAT961_ALERT_5_G Dataset Contains no Negative Intensities ....... ! Check
0 ALERT level A = Most likely a serious problem - resolve or explain 0 ALERT level B = A potentially serious problem, consider carefully 5 ALERT level C = Check. Ensure it is not caused by an omission or oversight 8 ALERT level G = General information/check it is not something unexpected 1 ALERT type 1 CIF construction/syntax error, inconsistent or missing data 2 ALERT type 2 Indicator that the structure model may be wrong or deficient 4 ALERT type 3 Indicator that the structure quality may be low 2 ALERT type 4 Improvement, methodology, query or suggestion 4 ALERT type 5 Informative message, check
The crystals related to the Na7Al3 (As2O7)4 phase were obtained from reactants: NaHCO3 (Prolabo, 27778), Al2O3 (Riedel-de Haen, 167305) NH4H2AsO4 (prepared in the laboratory, JCPDS-775), taken in molar proportions: Na: A l: As = 10: 1: 9. Finely ground, the mixture was put in a porcelain crucible, placed in an oven and preheated in air at 673 K for 24 h to remove volatiles. After that, the mixture is raised to a synthesis temperature close to the melting 968 K through stages of 100 degrees followed by grinding. The mixture is then left at this temperature for a week to promote germination and growth of crystals. The final residue undergoes a first slow cooling (5 ° / half day, at 800 K) and a second fast (50 ° / h) to room temperature. Transparent crystals of prismatic form, clear outline and sufficient size for measurements of intensities, have been separated from the stream by successive hot water washes.
The collection was carried out in the monoclinic system of C2 / c space group. During the final refinement and for electrical neutrality reasons, the occupancy rate of Na+ cations were conducted using the SUMP condition authorized by the SHELXL program. The refinement of all variable parameters leads to well defined ellipsoids. The maximum and minimum densities of electrons remaining in the Fourier-difference are respectively situated at 0.86 Å from the As4 site and at 1.35 Å from the NA3B site.
Data collection: CAD-4 EXPRESS (Duisenberg, 1992; Macíček & Yordanov, 1992); cell refinement: CAD-4 EXPRESS (Duisenberg, 1992; Macíček & Yordanov, 1992); data reduction: XCAD4 (Harms & Wocadlo, 1995); program(s) used to solve structure: SHELXS97 (Sheldrick, 2008); program(s) used to refine structure: SHELXL97 (Sheldrick, 2008); molecular graphics: DIAMOND (Brandenburg, 1998); software used to prepare material for publication: WinGX (Farrugia, 2012).
Na7Al3(As2O7)4 | F(000) = 2416 |
Mr = 1289.23 | Dx = 3.613 Mg m−3 |
Monoclinic, C2/c | Mo Kα radiation, λ = 0.71073 Å |
Hall symbol: -C 2yc | Cell parameters from 25 reflections |
a = 9.800 (1) Å | θ = 10–15° |
b = 8.468 (1) Å | µ = 11.50 mm−1 |
c = 28.637 (2) Å | T = 298 K |
β = 94.14 (1)° | Parallelipiped, colorless |
V = 2370.3 (4) Å3 | 0.25 × 0.20 × 0.1 mm |
Z = 4 |
Enraf–Nonius CAD-4 diffractometer | 2150 reflections with I > 2σ(I) |
Radiation source: fine-focus sealed tube | Rint = 0.056 |
Graphite monochromator | θmax = 27.0°, θmin = 2.9° |
ω/2θ scans | h = −12→3 |
Absorption correction: ψ scan (North et al., 1968) | k = −1→10 |
Tmin = 0.759, Tmax = 0.891 | l = −36→36 |
3958 measured reflections | 2 standard reflections every 120 min |
2583 independent reflections | intensity decay: 1.1% |
Refinement on F2 | Primary atom site location: structure-invariant direct methods |
Least-squares matrix: full | Secondary atom site location: difference Fourier map |
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)] = 0.034 | w = 1/[σ2(Fo2) + (0.0314P)2 + 24.9095P] where P = (Fo2 + 2Fc2)/3 |
wR(F2) = 0.085 | (Δ/σ)max = 0.001 |
S = 1.10 | Δρmax = 1.27 e Å−3 |
2583 reflections | Δρmin = −0.98 e Å−3 |
221 parameters | Extinction correction: SHELXL97 (Sheldrick, 2008), Fc*=kFc[1+0.001xFc2λ3/sin(2θ)]-1/4 |
0 restraints | Extinction coefficient: 0.00057 (6) |
Na7Al3(As2O7)4 | V = 2370.3 (4) Å3 |
Mr = 1289.23 | Z = 4 |
Monoclinic, C2/c | Mo Kα radiation |
a = 9.800 (1) Å | µ = 11.50 mm−1 |
b = 8.468 (1) Å | T = 298 K |
c = 28.637 (2) Å | 0.25 × 0.20 × 0.1 mm |
β = 94.14 (1)° |
Enraf–Nonius CAD-4 diffractometer | 2150 reflections with I > 2σ(I) |
Absorption correction: ψ scan (North et al., 1968) | Rint = 0.056 |
Tmin = 0.759, Tmax = 0.891 | 2 standard reflections every 120 min |
3958 measured reflections | intensity decay: 1.1% |
2583 independent reflections |
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)] = 0.034 | 0 restraints |
wR(F2) = 0.085 | w = 1/[σ2(Fo2) + (0.0314P)2 + 24.9095P] where P = (Fo2 + 2Fc2)/3 |
S = 1.10 | Δρmax = 1.27 e Å−3 |
2583 reflections | Δρmin = −0.98 e Å−3 |
221 parameters |
Geometry. All e.s.d.'s (except the e.s.d. in the dihedral angle between two l.s. planes) are estimated using the full covariance matrix. The cell e.s.d.'s are taken into account individually in the estimation of e.s.d.'s in distances, angles and torsion angles; correlations between e.s.d.'s in cell parameters are only used when they are defined by crystal symmetry. An approximate (isotropic) treatment of cell e.s.d.'s is used for estimating e.s.d.'s involving l.s. planes. |
Refinement. Refinement of F2 against ALL reflections. The weighted R-factor wR and goodness of fit S are based on F2, conventional R-factors R are based on F, with F set to zero for negative F2. The threshold expression of F2 > σ(F2) is used only for calculating R-factors(gt) etc. and is not relevant to the choice of reflections for refinement. R-factors based on F2 are statistically about twice as large as those based on F, and R- factors based on ALL data will be even larger. |
x | y | z | Uiso*/Ueq | Occ. (<1) | |
Al1 | 0.0000 | 0.1057 (3) | 0.2500 | 0.0082 (4) | |
Al2 | 0.31736 (15) | −0.02622 (18) | 0.43636 (5) | 0.0069 (3) | |
As1 | 0.30056 (5) | 0.28137 (6) | 0.246216 (18) | 0.00898 (15) | |
As2 | 0.21753 (5) | 0.15080 (6) | 0.338657 (18) | 0.00927 (15) | |
As3 | 0.58680 (5) | 0.20071 (6) | 0.464306 (18) | 0.00733 (14) | |
As4 | 0.48861 (5) | 0.34009 (6) | 0.557696 (18) | 0.00774 (14) | |
O1 | 0.3645 (4) | 0.4537 (5) | 0.26651 (14) | 0.0149 (8) | |
O2 | 0.3734 (4) | 0.2071 (5) | 0.20087 (13) | 0.0149 (8) | |
O3 | 0.1281 (4) | 0.2823 (5) | 0.23865 (14) | 0.0148 (8) | |
O4 | 0.3327 (4) | 0.1491 (4) | 0.29386 (13) | 0.0119 (8) | |
O5 | 0.4404 (4) | 0.1537 (5) | 0.43395 (15) | 0.0170 (9) | |
O6 | 0.6943 (4) | 0.2857 (5) | 0.42888 (14) | 0.0145 (8) | |
O7 | 0.6569 (4) | 0.0529 (4) | 0.49622 (13) | 0.0120 (8) | |
O8 | 0.5686 (4) | 0.4760 (5) | 0.59037 (13) | 0.0148 (8) | |
O9 | 0.3192 (4) | 0.3690 (5) | 0.54893 (14) | 0.0142 (8) | |
O10 | 0.5262 (4) | 0.1554 (4) | 0.57538 (14) | 0.0133 (8) | |
O11 | 0.5459 (4) | 0.3542 (4) | 0.50101 (13) | 0.0139 (8) | |
O12 | 0.0599 (4) | 0.1063 (5) | 0.31482 (14) | 0.0162 (8) | |
O13 | 0.2283 (5) | 0.3289 (5) | 0.36098 (15) | 0.0210 (9) | |
O14 | 0.2752 (4) | −0.0052 (5) | 0.37014 (13) | 0.0162 (8) | |
Na1 | −0.2221 (3) | −0.1225 (3) | 0.44633 (9) | 0.0249 (6) | |
Na2A | 0.5268 (10) | −0.0466 (12) | 0.3075 (4) | 0.017 (2)* | 0.24 |
Na2B | 0.5000 | 0.0010 (13) | 0.2500 | 0.013 (2)* | 0.28 |
Na2C | 0.5094 (8) | −0.0556 (10) | 0.3269 (3) | 0.0236 (18)* | 0.32 |
Na3A | 0.0283 (5) | −0.1551 (6) | 0.35860 (17) | 0.0186 (11)* | 0.58 |
Na3B | −0.0112 (8) | −0.1372 (9) | 0.3504 (3) | 0.0118 (16)* | 0.33 |
Na4A | −0.233 (2) | 0.100 (3) | 0.3543 (7) | 0.016 (4)* | 0.13 |
Na4B | −0.1483 (11) | 0.2292 (14) | 0.3505 (3) | 0.024 (2)* | 0.27 |
Na4C | −0.1939 (9) | 0.0862 (10) | 0.3420 (3) | 0.0220 (17)* | 0.35 |
Na4D | −0.184 (2) | 0.175 (3) | 0.3538 (7) | 0.025 (4)* | 0.14 |
U11 | U22 | U33 | U12 | U13 | U23 | |
Al1 | 0.0067 (9) | 0.0083 (10) | 0.0094 (10) | 0.000 | 0.0000 (8) | 0.000 |
Al2 | 0.0071 (7) | 0.0064 (7) | 0.0072 (7) | 0.0000 (6) | −0.0004 (5) | 0.0007 (6) |
As1 | 0.0065 (2) | 0.0108 (3) | 0.0096 (3) | −0.00147 (19) | 0.00072 (18) | 0.00172 (19) |
As2 | 0.0100 (3) | 0.0103 (3) | 0.0074 (3) | −0.0014 (2) | 0.00003 (18) | 0.0014 (2) |
As3 | 0.0066 (2) | 0.0081 (3) | 0.0074 (3) | 0.00032 (19) | 0.00102 (18) | 0.00067 (19) |
As4 | 0.0076 (2) | 0.0075 (3) | 0.0083 (3) | −0.00002 (19) | 0.00122 (18) | −0.00046 (18) |
O1 | 0.0154 (19) | 0.0102 (19) | 0.019 (2) | −0.0034 (16) | 0.0032 (15) | −0.0008 (16) |
O2 | 0.0134 (18) | 0.017 (2) | 0.0151 (19) | −0.0001 (16) | 0.0077 (14) | −0.0027 (16) |
O3 | 0.0036 (16) | 0.016 (2) | 0.025 (2) | −0.0003 (15) | 0.0023 (14) | 0.0049 (17) |
O4 | 0.0077 (16) | 0.0145 (19) | 0.0136 (18) | 0.0026 (15) | 0.0024 (14) | 0.0037 (15) |
O5 | 0.0125 (18) | 0.0120 (19) | 0.025 (2) | −0.0018 (15) | −0.0103 (16) | −0.0004 (16) |
O6 | 0.0127 (18) | 0.017 (2) | 0.0149 (19) | 0.0003 (16) | 0.0066 (14) | 0.0055 (16) |
O7 | 0.0139 (18) | 0.0114 (19) | 0.0103 (18) | 0.0063 (15) | −0.0011 (14) | 0.0018 (15) |
O8 | 0.0169 (19) | 0.0147 (19) | 0.013 (2) | −0.0044 (16) | 0.0005 (15) | −0.0055 (15) |
O9 | 0.0089 (17) | 0.0145 (19) | 0.019 (2) | 0.0014 (15) | 0.0009 (15) | 0.0017 (16) |
O10 | 0.0145 (18) | 0.0076 (18) | 0.018 (2) | 0.0010 (15) | 0.0025 (15) | 0.0047 (15) |
O11 | 0.025 (2) | 0.0084 (18) | 0.0088 (18) | 0.0017 (16) | 0.0077 (15) | 0.0018 (15) |
O12 | 0.0063 (16) | 0.024 (2) | 0.018 (2) | −0.0019 (16) | −0.0012 (14) | 0.0011 (17) |
O13 | 0.035 (2) | 0.0112 (19) | 0.017 (2) | −0.0013 (18) | 0.0032 (17) | −0.0012 (17) |
O14 | 0.022 (2) | 0.0135 (19) | 0.013 (2) | −0.0012 (16) | −0.0021 (15) | 0.0030 (16) |
Na1 | 0.0255 (13) | 0.0141 (12) | 0.0370 (15) | −0.0030 (10) | 0.0148 (11) | −0.0035 (11) |
Al1—O12i | 1.906 (4) | Na2B—O3ix | 2.274 (10) |
Al1—O12 | 1.906 (4) | Na2B—O3iii | 2.274 (10) |
Al1—O1ii | 1.932 (4) | Na2B—O4viii | 2.477 (7) |
Al1—O1iii | 1.932 (4) | Na2B—O2viii | 2.512 (9) |
Al1—O3 | 1.994 (4) | Na2C—O13ix | 2.492 (9) |
Al1—O3i | 1.994 (4) | Na2C—O3iii | 2.619 (9) |
Al2—O14 | 1.920 (4) | Na2C—O2viii | 2.652 (10) |
Al2—O10iv | 1.933 (4) | Na2C—O12ix | 2.931 (9) |
Al2—O7iv | 1.942 (4) | Na2C—O10iv | 2.968 (11) |
Al2—O5 | 1.947 (4) | Na3A—O2iii | 2.330 (6) |
Al2—O9v | 1.955 (4) | Na3A—O8v | 2.353 (6) |
Al2—O6ii | 2.000 (4) | Na3A—O6ii | 2.545 (7) |
As1—O2 | 1.651 (4) | Na3A—O5ii | 2.879 (6) |
As1—O1 | 1.676 (4) | Na3A—O13ii | 2.949 (7) |
As1—O3 | 1.689 (4) | Na3B—O8v | 2.279 (8) |
As1—O4 | 1.776 (4) | Na3B—O2iii | 2.451 (8) |
As2—O13 | 1.638 (4) | Na3B—O13ii | 2.608 (9) |
As2—O14 | 1.675 (4) | Na3B—O1ii | 2.725 (9) |
As2—O12 | 1.686 (4) | Na3B—O4ii | 2.807 (8) |
As2—O4 | 1.769 (4) | Na3B—O6ii | 2.980 (9) |
As3—O7 | 1.668 (4) | Na4A—O2i | 2.213 (19) |
As3—O5 | 1.671 (4) | Na4A—O8v | 2.271 (19) |
As3—O6 | 1.677 (4) | Na4A—O13ii | 2.33 (2) |
As3—O11 | 1.736 (4) | Na4A—O6vii | 2.79 (2) |
As4—O8 | 1.646 (4) | Na4B—O14x | 2.449 (11) |
As4—O10 | 1.676 (4) | Na4B—O8v | 2.512 (11) |
As4—O9 | 1.679 (4) | Na4B—O10v | 2.555 (11) |
As4—O11 | 1.760 (4) | Na4B—O2i | 2.568 (11) |
Na1—O8v | 2.265 (5) | Na4B—O3i | 2.613 (11) |
Na1—O9vi | 2.302 (5) | Na4B—O6vii | 2.854 (11) |
Na1—O7vii | 2.429 (4) | Na4C—O8v | 2.278 (8) |
Na1—O13ii | 2.492 (5) | Na4C—O2i | 2.310 (9) |
Na1—O5ii | 2.517 (5) | Na4C—O13ii | 2.384 (9) |
Na1—O9ii | 2.938 (5) | Na4C—O1ii | 2.538 (10) |
Na1—O11ii | 2.966 (5) | Na4C—O3i | 2.954 (9) |
Na1—O10vi | 3.013 (5) | Na4D—O8v | 2.28 (2) |
Na2A—O2viii | 2.380 (11) | Na4D—O2i | 2.36 (2) |
Na2A—O3iii | 2.420 (10) | Na4D—O6vii | 2.70 (2) |
Na2A—O13ix | 2.631 (11) | Na4D—O14x | 2.78 (3) |
Na2A—O3ix | 2.692 (12) | Na4D—O10v | 2.85 (2) |
Na2A—O12ix | 2.962 (11) | Na4D—O3i | 2.89 (2) |
O12i—Al1—O12 | 179.7 (3) | O2—As1—O4 | 107.54 (19) |
O12i—Al1—O1ii | 94.10 (18) | O1—As1—O4 | 103.99 (19) |
O12—Al1—O1ii | 86.13 (17) | O3—As1—O4 | 102.82 (18) |
O12i—Al1—O1iii | 86.13 (17) | O13—As2—O14 | 120.4 (2) |
O12—Al1—O1iii | 94.10 (18) | O13—As2—O12 | 113.3 (2) |
O1ii—Al1—O1iii | 96.5 (3) | O14—As2—O12 | 107.8 (2) |
O12i—Al1—O3 | 89.56 (18) | O13—As2—O4 | 105.3 (2) |
O12—Al1—O3 | 90.19 (17) | O14—As2—O4 | 100.13 (19) |
O1ii—Al1—O3 | 172.35 (19) | O12—As2—O4 | 108.58 (18) |
O1iii—Al1—O3 | 90.44 (16) | O7—As3—O5 | 114.24 (19) |
O12i—Al1—O3i | 90.19 (17) | O7—As3—O6 | 113.67 (19) |
O12—Al1—O3i | 89.56 (18) | O5—As3—O6 | 109.9 (2) |
O1ii—Al1—O3i | 90.44 (16) | O7—As3—O11 | 109.49 (18) |
O1iii—Al1—O3i | 172.35 (19) | O5—As3—O11 | 105.4 (2) |
O3—Al1—O3i | 82.8 (2) | O6—As3—O11 | 103.15 (19) |
O14—Al2—O10iv | 89.86 (18) | O8—As4—O10 | 113.3 (2) |
O14—Al2—O7iv | 174.86 (18) | O8—As4—O9 | 114.1 (2) |
O10iv—Al2—O7iv | 93.40 (17) | O10—As4—O9 | 111.99 (19) |
O14—Al2—O5 | 88.99 (18) | O8—As4—O11 | 107.83 (19) |
O10iv—Al2—O5 | 86.32 (18) | O10—As4—O11 | 105.32 (18) |
O7iv—Al2—O5 | 95.18 (18) | O9—As4—O11 | 103.31 (19) |
O14—Al2—O9v | 92.74 (18) | As1—O1—Al1xi | 137.9 (2) |
O10iv—Al2—O9v | 170.74 (18) | As1—O3—Al1 | 127.7 (2) |
O7iv—Al2—O9v | 84.66 (17) | As2—O4—As1 | 117.7 (2) |
O5—Al2—O9v | 84.85 (18) | As3—O5—Al2 | 132.7 (2) |
O14—Al2—O6ii | 83.26 (17) | As3—O6—Al2xi | 132.6 (2) |
O10iv—Al2—O6ii | 90.59 (17) | As3—O7—Al2iv | 130.6 (2) |
O7iv—Al2—O6ii | 92.73 (17) | As4—O9—Al2v | 138.8 (2) |
O5—Al2—O6ii | 171.67 (19) | As4—O10—Al2iv | 129.4 (2) |
O9v—Al2—O6ii | 98.54 (17) | As3—O11—As4 | 127.6 (2) |
O2—As1—O1 | 115.63 (19) | As2—O12—Al1 | 127.1 (2) |
O2—As1—O3 | 112.7 (2) | As2—O14—Al2 | 130.2 (2) |
O1—As1—O3 | 112.73 (19) |
Symmetry codes: (i) −x, y, −z+1/2; (ii) x−1/2, y−1/2, z; (iii) −x+1/2, y−1/2, −z+1/2; (iv) −x+1, −y, −z+1; (v) −x+1/2, −y+1/2, −z+1; (vi) −x, −y, −z+1; (vii) x−1, y, z; (viii) −x+1, y, −z+1/2; (ix) x+1/2, y−1/2, z; (x) x−1/2, y+1/2, z; (xi) x+1/2, y+1/2, z. |
Al1—O12i | 1.906 (4) | As1—O3 | 1.689 (4) |
Al1—O12 | 1.906 (4) | As1—O4 | 1.776 (4) |
Al1—O1ii | 1.932 (4) | As2—O13 | 1.638 (4) |
Al1—O1iii | 1.932 (4) | As2—O14 | 1.675 (4) |
Al1—O3 | 1.994 (4) | As2—O12 | 1.686 (4) |
Al1—O3i | 1.994 (4) | As2—O4 | 1.769 (4) |
Al2—O14 | 1.920 (4) | As3—O7 | 1.668 (4) |
Al2—O10iv | 1.933 (4) | As3—O5 | 1.671 (4) |
Al2—O7iv | 1.942 (4) | As3—O6 | 1.677 (4) |
Al2—O5 | 1.947 (4) | As3—O11 | 1.736 (4) |
Al2—O9v | 1.955 (4) | As4—O8 | 1.646 (4) |
Al2—O6ii | 2.000 (4) | As4—O10 | 1.676 (4) |
As1—O2 | 1.651 (4) | As4—O9 | 1.679 (4) |
As1—O1 | 1.676 (4) | As4—O11 | 1.760 (4) |
Symmetry codes: (i) −x, y, −z+1/2; (ii) x−1/2, y−1/2, z; (iii) −x+1/2, y−1/2, −z+1/2; (iv) −x+1, −y, −z+1; (v) −x+1/2, −y+1/2, −z+1. |
A new family of compounds Na7M3(X2O7)4 (M = Fe, Al, Cr, Ga; X = P, As) studied by Masquelier et al. (1994) present interesting ion conductivity properties. In this family line, a structural study was carried out only for Na7Fe3(As2O7)4 and Na7Fe3(P2O7)4 compounds by Masquelier et al.(1990, 1991). In addition, another structural study was conducted to isotypes compounds Na5Ag2Fe3(As2O7)4 and Na2Ag5Fe3(P2O7)4 by Quarez et al. (2009). Also, electrical measurements were also made by Quarez et al. (2009) for Ag7Fe3(X2O7)4 (X = As, P) compounds. However, as for the Na7Al3(As2O7)4 compound no structural analysis has been reported so far.
The structure of compound Na7Al3(As2O7)4 shows a three-dimensional anionic framework [Al3(As2O7) 4]∞ composed of octahedron AlO6 sharing vertices with As2O7 groups. This framework defines the interstitial spaces in which the Na + ions are located in a partially disordered distribution to ensure the electrical neutrality. The single unit [Al3(As2O7)4]7- consists of an octahedron Al1O6 and two octahedra Al2O6 related to As2O7 group by sharing vertices (Fig. 1). The two aluminium atoms occupy two crystallographically independent sites: the aluminium Al1 is in special position 4e of a symmetry equal to 2; whereas the Al2 is in general position of 8f. In this unit, the connection between the octahedra Al1O6 and Al2O6 is provided by the group As1As2O7 through oxygen atom O14. In this structure, the units [Al3(As2O7)4]7- are inter-related thanks to composite bridges of types Al—O—As and As—O—Al respectively. These bridges are located between the octahedra AlO6 and As2O7 diarsenates groups in order to handle two types of parallel layers to the (a, b) plan. According to (010) (Fig. 2), a projection of the structure shows that the anionic framework consists of a succession of layers as follow: A: [Al1(As2As3O7)2]∞ and B: [(Al2As3As4O7)2]∞ perpendicular to c alternately. In the layers A, the only components are Octahedra Al1O6, whereas other aluminium octahedra Al2O6 shape layers B.
On the one hand, in the layer A, each octahedron Al1O6 is connected to two groups As1As2O7 by sharing both a vertex and two other groups As1As2O7 such as the Al1O6 octahedron shares two of its vertices with the same group As2O7. By rotation around the fold axis, these groups are equivalent (Fig. 3). This mode of connection is found in phosphates: ARu2(P2O7)2 (A = Li, Na, Ag) (Fukuoka et al., 2003.), NaMo2(P2O7)2 (Hwu et al., 1991), and SrV2(P2O7)2 (Lii et al., 1989).
On the other hand, in the layer B, each octahedron Al2O6 is connected to four As2O7 groups through the formation of composite bridges Al—O—As and the division of two vertices with a fifth group As2O7 (Fig. 3). This layer is formed by AlAs2O11 units related through the formation of Al—O—As composed bridges. This type of M—O—As bond between MAs2O11 units (M = Al, Ga, Fe) is situated in the following isostructural compounds: RbAlAs2O7 (Boughzala et al., 1993), KAlAs2O7 (Boughzala et al., 1995), KGaAs2O7 (Lin et al., 1996) and TlFe0.22Al0.78As2O7 (Ouerfelli et al., 2007).
The O14 oxygen atom guarantees the bond between the layers A and B through the bridges Al2—O14—As2.
The anionic framework [Al3(As2O7)4]∞ can be also described as alternate stacking of octahedral AlO6 layers and As2O7 groups layers parallel to (101) (Fig. 4).
In this structure, the sodium ions are distributed through ten crystallographic sites in the interstices of the anionic network. The first type of the site corresponding to 8f position is totally occupied by the Na1 cation which is localized in the layer B. As for the nine other sites, they are partially occupied. And these can be arranged into groups of three sets: (Na2A—Na2B—Na2C), (Na3A—Na3B) and (Na4A—Na4B—Na4C—Na4D). Different sites of the same group are too close to be occupied simultaneously. As a result, the total number of Na+ ions for each group is less than or equal to one. These sodium ions are predominantly located in the layer A and they are distributed in the vicinity of two plans parallel to (001) respectively to dimensions z ≈ 0.15 and z ≈ 0.35. Also, the Na2B site, located on the binary axis, occupies an intermediate position (z = 1/4). Examination of geometric factors in the structure shows that they are in accordance with those found in the literature (Driss et al., 1994; Masquelier et al., 1995.). In addition, the use of the BVS method for the calculation of different valences of bonds, using the empirical formula of Brown (Brown & Altermatt, 1985), does satisfy the expected values of ion charge: Al1 (2.73), Al2 (2.69), As1 (4.90), As2 (4.98), As3 (5.01), As4 (5.00), Na1 (1.16), Na2A (0.87), Na2B (1.13), Na2C (0.79), Na3A (1.00), Na3B (1.03), Na4A (0.97), Na4B (0.95), Na4C (1.01), Na4D (0, 93). In order to use these structural data and to connect them to the physicochemical properties, especially ion-conducting electrical measurements through a complex impedance bridge are in progress.