Temperature initiated P-polymerization in solid [Cd3Cu]CuP10.

[Cd3Cu]CuP10, a polyphosphide containing adamantine-analogue [P10] unit undergoes a solid-state polymerization to form [P6] rings and tubular [P26] polymer units at elevated temperatures. This reaction represents the rare case of a polyphosphide polymerization in the solid state. The formation of such a polymeric unit starting from a molecular precursor is the first evidence of the general possibility to perform a bottom-up route to the well-known tubular polyphosphide units of elemental phosphorus in a solid material.

The layered polyphosphide Ag3.73(4)Zn2.27(4)P16.

The silver zinc hexa-deca-phosphide Ag3.73(4)Zn2.27(4)P16 is the first polyphosphide in the ternary system Ag/Zn/P.

Reversible switching between p- and n-type conduction in the semiconductor Ag10Te4Br3.

Semiconductors are key materials in modern electronics and are widely used to build, for instance, transistors in integrated circuits as well as thermoelectric materials for energy conversion, and there is a tremendous interest in the development and improvement of novel materials and technologies to increase the performance of electronic devices and thermoelectrics. Tetramorphic Ag(10)Te(4)Br(3) is a semiconductor capable of switching its electrical properties by a simple change of temperature. The combination of high silver mobility, a small non-stoichiometry range and an internal redox process in the tellurium substructure causes a thermopower drop of 1,400 microV K(-1), in addition to a thermal diffusivity in the range of organic polymers.

Crystal structures and thermal and electrical properties of the new silver (poly)chalcogenide halides Ag23Te12Cl and Ag23Te12Br.

Two new silver (poly)chalcogenide halides, Ag23Te12Cl and Ag23Te12Br, were characterized by powder X-ray phase analysis, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and crystal structure determinations at various temperatures. Thermal analyses of both compounds and electrochemical measurements for the bromide completed the investigation. The compounds Ag23Te12X (X = Cl, Br) are isostructural and crystallize orthorhombically (space group Pnnm, Z = 4) as systematic twins.