Synthesis, Structure, and Properties of New Perovskite PbVO 3

The new perovskite PbVO 3 was synthesized under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. Its crystal structure ( a = 3.80005(6) Å, c = 4.6703(1) Å, Z = 1, S.G. P 4 mm ) contains isolated layers of corner-shared VO 5 pyramids, which are formed instead of octahedra due to a strong tetragonal distortion ( c / a = 1.23). The lead atom is shifted out of the center of the unit cell toward one of two [VO 2 ]-layers due to the influence of the lone pair. This new perovskite exhibits a semiconductor-like ρ( T ) dependence down to 2 K. This behavior can be qualitatively explained by taking into account strong electron correlations in electronic structure calculations.