Synthesis and structure of a new layered aluminium phosphate: [BuNH3](3)[Al3P4O16]

A new two-dimensional aluminium phosphate, [BuNH3](3)[Al3P4O16], has been synthesized under solvothermal conditions at 453 K using butylamine as template. The structure, solved using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data measured at 200 K [trigonal, space group P (3) over bar, a = 13.158(2), c = 9.633(2) Angstrom, U= 1444.4 Angstrom(3), Z = 2], consists of AAAA-stacked [Al3P4O16](3-) layers containing 12-membered rings of alternating AlO4 and PO4 tetrahedra. Disordered butylammonium cations lie between the layers with their hydrophobic tails pointing into the channels bounded by the 12-membered rings.