Dalton Transactions
Paper
two BO4 tetrahedra. The fundamental building unit (FBU) can
Table 4 Selected bond lengths and bond valence sums (Vi), for
Li3BP2O8
a
3
□
□
□ □
be expressed by the description of Ewald et al. as 6
: <4 > .
Similar 1∞[BP2O8]3− chains have been reported in the crystal
Li1–O8
Li1–O3
Li1–O7i
Li1–O2ii
Li1–O5
VLi1
1.970(6)
2.031(6)
2.143(6)
2.180(6)
2.609(6)
0.82
B1–O1
B1–O5vii
B1–O2iv
B1–O7vii
VB
1.455(3)
1.463(3)
1.484(3)
1.484(3)
3.05
structures of Na3BP2O8 (space group C2/c)7 and RbZnBP2O8
20
ˉ
(space group P1).
Li1 sites are in the layers of 1∞[BP2O8]3− chains, and Li2
and Li3 sites align on the a–c plane at y = 0.41–0.59 (Fig. 3(b)),
forming zigzag chains along the a + c direction (Fig. 3(c)). The
distances of Li2–Li2, Li2–Li3 and Li3–Li3 are in the range
2.531(5)–2.624(7) Å (Fig. 3(c)). The Li–Li distances between the
zigzag chains are 3.688(7)–4.588(6) Å. The relatively short Li–Li
interatomic distances in the chains may suggest a lithium ion
conduction path of Li3BP2O8.
Li2–O6
Li2–O3
Li2–O6iii
Li2–O4iv
VLi2
1.876(5)
1.919(5)
1.953(5)
1.965(5)
1.15
P1–O8
P1–O4
P1–O7
P1–O2
VP1
1.4995(19)
1.5018(18)
1.5742(18)
1.5786(18)
4.97
Li3–O8iv
Li3–O4v
Li3–O3vi
Li3–O4
VLi3
1.890(6)
1.930(6)
2.119(6)
2.213(9)
0.91
P2–O6
P2–O3vi
P2–O1viii
P2–O5
VP2
1.4957(19)
1.5164(19)
1.5578(18)
1.5717(18)
5.00
In order to reveal Li ion conduction, preparation of
Li3BP2O8 bulk samples was attempted. Fig. 1(b) shows the
powder XRD pattern of the sample prepared by heating the
starting powders of H3BO3, Li2CO3 and NH4H2PO4 with a Li :
B : P molar ratio of 3 : 1 : 2 at 473 K for 9 h, followed by grind-
ing, pelletizing and heating two times at 923 K for 12 h with
intermediate pulverization and pelletization. In this powder
XRD pattern, the reflection peaks of BPO4 and Li4P2O7 were
seen besides the peaks of Li3BP2O8 indexed with the lattice
parameters determined by the single crystal XRD analysis.
BPO4 is a stable compound with a melting point of about
1673 K. Once BPO4 was crystallized in the sample, it was
difficult to react BPO4 completely with Li4P2O7. The single
phase of Li3BP2O8 was prepared from Li4P2O7 (m.p.: 1149 K),
LiPO3 (m.p.: 929 K) and H3BO3 (decomposed to B2O3 at 458 K,
m.p. of B2O3: 753 K) as starting materials.
a Symmetry codes: (i) x + 1, y, z; (ii) −x + 1, −y, −z + 1; (iii) −x + 1, −y +
1, −z; (iv) −x + 1, −y + 1, −z + 1; (v) −x, −y + 1, −z + 1; (vi) x − 1, y, z;
(vii) x, y + 1, z; (viii) −x, −y + 1, −z. Bond valence parameters: Li+:
1.466 Å, B3+: 1.371 Å, P5+: 1.617 Å.16
Fig. 4 shows the result of Rietveld refinement for the
powder XRD pattern of the Li3BP2O8 sample using the crystal
structure model presented by the single crystal XRD. All peaks
were indexed with the lattice parameters refined by the Riet-
veld analysis: a = 5.18971(18) Å, b = 7.41030(26) Å, c =
7.67204(29) Å, α = 101.14(1)°, β = 105.05(1)° and γ = 90.34(1)°,
which agreed with those of single crystal XRD (Table 1). The
final R-factors defined in ref. 21 were Rwp = 0.112, Rp
=
0.083, RB = 0.030, RF = 0.017 and S = 2.243. As listed in Table 5,
the d values and intensities of the XRD peaks reported for
Li22B11P13O60 by Tien and Hummel5 are comparable to the
data for L3BP2O8 revealed in the present study. The polycrystal-
line bulk sample of Li3BP2O8 was dissolved in an HCl water
solution, and the contents of Li2O, B2O3 and P2O5 analyzed by
ICP spectrometry were 19.4, 15.7 and 62.4 mass% (total
97.5%), respectively, which were fairly consistent with the ideal
compositions (Li2O: 20.2%, B2O3: 15.7%, P2O5: 64.1%).
Fig. 2 Atomic arrangement around Li, B, P and O atoms in the structure
of Li3BP2O8. Displacement ellipsoids are drawn at the 90% probability
level. Symmetry codes: (i) x + 1, y, z; (ii) −x + 1, −y, −z + 1; (iii) −x + 1, −y
+ 1, −z; (iv) −x + 1, −y + 1, −z + 1; (v) −x, −y + 1, −z + 1; (vi) x − 1, y, z;
(vii) x, y + 1, z; (viii) −x, −y + 1, −z.
The electrical conductivity was measured by the AC impe-
dance method with the electrodes of graphite or Ag paste
coated on both sides of the sample disk. The relative density
of the polycrystalline Li3BP2O8 bulk sample disk (diameter:
6.01 mm, thickness: 1.02 mm) was approximately 74%. Fig. 5
shows plots of the impedance measured at 453, 513, 553 and
583 K. The semicircles of the impedance plots could not be
separated into intra-grain and grain-boundary parts. The total
resistances of the Li3BP2O8 polycrystalline bulk sample
measured at 453, 513, 553 and 583 K were 1560, 213, 61 and
was almost identical to the value of −59 900 kJ mol−1 (differ-
ence Δ = 1.1%) of the Madelung energies: Li2O −3500 kJ
mol−1 17 B2O3 −2190 kJ mol−1 18 and P2O5 −43 700 kJ mol−1 19
,
with the formula Li3BP2O8 = 3/2Li2O + 1/2B2O3 + P2O5.
As shown in Fig. 3(a), all oxygen atoms of the BO4 tetra-
hedron are shared by four PO4 tetrahedra. One-dimensional
1∞[BP2O8]3− chains are formed in the c-axis direction by
linking the four-membered rings composed of two PO4 and
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2014
Dalton Trans., 2014, 43, 2294–2300 | 2297