Structural and optical properties of the (CnH2n+1NH3)2SnCl4 (n = 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) system

K2NiF4-type layered compounds of the (CnH2n-1NH3)(2)SnCl4 (n=2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) system have been synthesized from a stoichiometric mixture of SnCl2 and alkyl ammonium salt using a low temperature solution technique under the inert atmosphere condition. Their crystal structures are assigned to the orthorhombic system by X-ray powder diffraction analysis. The a and b cell parameters show small changes. However, the c parameter is varied significantly according to the increment of alkyl chains of the organic layer which is located between inorganic layers in the compounds. The conformational phase transitions of the compounds are studied by the DSC in the temperature range of 300 to 500 K. FT-IR and Raman spectra are analyzed in the ranges of 1300 to 4000 cm(-1) and of 50 to 360 cm(-1) with Ar-laser (lambda=514.5 nm) excitation, respectively. Photoluminescence phenomena are observed for some compounds. The bond-length of Sn-Cl is determined by the EXAFS spectroscopic analysis.