Structural study of electrochemically-synthesized Ag2Cu2O4. A novel oxide sensitive to irradiation

Abstract

The structure of Ag₂Cu₂O₄ synthesized by electrochemical oxidation of its precursor Ag₂Cu₂O₃ is studied under a new perspective. Irradiation of the oxide with X-ray beam transforms the electronic structure of the phase by redistributing the internal charge within the material. The refined structure shows several possibilities all with metals in the same arrangement, but with oxygen atoms distributed in a rather disordered way. This is typical of ionic conductors.