YCu(TeO(3))(2)(NO(3))(H(2)O)(3): a novel layered tellurite

A new hydrated yttrium copper tellurite nitrate, yttrium(III) copper(II) bis­[trioxidotellurate(IV)] nitrate trihydrate, has been synthesized hydro­thermally in a Teflon-lined autoclave and structurally determined using synchrotron radiation. The new phase is the first example containing yttrium, copper and tellurium in one structure. Its crystal structure is unique, with relatively strongly bound layers extending parallel to (020), defined by YO(8), CuO(4) and TeO(3) polyhedra, while the NO(3) (−) anions and one third of the water mol­ecules lie between those layers. The structural unit consists of [Cu(2)(TeO(3))(4)](4−) loop-branched chains of {Cu⋯Te⋯Cu⋯Te} squares running parallel to [001], which are linked further into layers only through Y(O,H(2)O)(8) polyhedra. Weak ‘secondary’ Te bonds and O—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions, involving water mol­ecules and layer O atoms, link the layers and inter­layer species. IR spectroscopic data are also presented.