Ag₂Cu₂O₃: The First Silver Copper Oxide

An efficient low-temperature route provides the first mixed oxide of silver and copper. Ag₂Cu₂O₃ represents an important precedent in the search for silver-containing superconductors. It has an open structure with three-dimensional tunnels displaying square-planar CuO₄ units, linerly coordinated silver ions, and vacant oxygen sites (see picture; Ag, Cu, and O are represented by white, large black, and small black spheres, respectively). The last feature allows for a rich solid-state redox chemistry.