Lanthanum cuprate usually refers to the inorganic compound with the formula CuLa₂O₄. The name implies that the compound consists of a

cuprate Cuprate loosely refers to a material that can be viewed as containing anionic copper complexes. Examples include tetrachloridocuprate ( uCl4sup>2−), the superconductor YBa2Cu3O7, and the organocuprates (e.g., dimethylcuprate u(CH3)2sup>� ...

(CuO_n]^2n-) salt of lanthanum (La³⁺). In fact it is a highly covalent solid. It is prepared by high temperature reaction of

lanthanum oxide Lanthanum(III) oxide, also known as lanthana, chemical formula , is an inorganic compound containing the rare earth element lanthanum and oxygen. It is used in some ferroelectric materials, as a component of optical materials, and is a feedstock ...

and

copper(II) oxide Copper(II) oxide or cupric oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula CuO. A black solid, it is one of the two stable oxides of copper, the other being Cu2O or copper(I) oxide (cuprous oxide). As a mineral, it is known as tenorite. It is ...

follow by annealing under oxygen. The material adopts a tetragonal structure related to

potassium tetrafluoronickelate Potassium tetrafluoronickelate is the inorganic compound with the formula K2NiF4. It features octahedral (high spin) Ni centers with Ni-F bond lengths of 2.006 Å. This green solid is a salt of tetrafluoronickelate. It is prepared by melting a mixt ...

(K₂NiF₄), which is orthorhombic. Replacement of some lanthanum by barium gives the quaternary phase CuLa_1.85Ba_0.15O₄, called

lanthanum barium copper oxide Lanthanum barium copper oxide, or LBCO, is an inorganic compound with the formula CuBa0.15La1.85O4. It is a black solid produced by heating an intimate mixture of barium oxide, copper(II) oxide, and lanthanum oxide in the presence of oxygen. ...

. That doped material displays superconductivity at −243 K, which at the time of its discovery was a high temperature. This discovery initiated research on

cuprate superconductor Cuprate superconductors are a family of high-temperature superconducting materials made of layers of copper oxides (CuO2) alternating with layers of other metal oxides, which act as charge reservoirs. At ambient pressure, cuprate superconductor ...

s and was the basis of a

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

Georg Bednorz Johannes Georg Bednorz (; born 16 May 1950) is a German physicist who, together with K. Alex Müller, discovered high-temperature superconductivity in ceramics, for which they shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physics. Life and work Bednorz was bor ...

and K. Alex Müller.{{cite journal , doi=10.1007/BF01303701, title=Possible High T_c Superconductivity in the Ba-La-Cu-O System, year=1986, last1=Bednorz, first1=J. G., last2=Müller, first2=K. A., journal=Zeitschrift für Physik B: Condensed Matter, volume=64, issue=2, pages=189–193, bibcode=1986ZPhyB..64..189B, s2cid=118314311

References

Inorganic compounds Chemical substances