Folding CuO2 planes into fullerene-like clusters

The wrapping of graphite planes into fullerenes induces, among other interesting properties, an increase of the superconducting temperature in their corresponding intercalation compounds that has been attributed to the cluster structure. This motivates the search for similar behaviour in other systems. Here we explore the clusters that may be obtained by the folding of CuO2 planes and study their magnetic and electronic properties. Natural murdochite mineral proves that, at least in an interconnected structure, the CuO2 layers fold into cages, while the BaCuO2 phase can be viewed as a first step towards their separation within a cationic matrix.