New layered perovskite compounds, M
II[La
2Ti
3O
10] (M = Co, Cu, and Zn) were synthesizedby the ion-exchange reaction of the parent Na
2La
2Ti
3O
10 in molten salts. The crystal structureof the as-synthesized phases was determined by the Rietveld refinement for the powderX-ray diffraction patterns. The unit cells are tetragonal with
a = 3.8128(1), 3.8248(2), and3.8127(1) Å and
c = 27.568(1), 26.329(1), and 27.5129(9) Å with an
I4/
mmm (
Z = 2) spacegroup for the Co, Cu, and Zn phases, respectively. The transition-metal atoms occupy stronglyflattened tetrahedral sites with 50% probability between the perovskite
slabs. These oxidesrepresent the first example of layered perovskite whose interlayer spaces are occupied bysmall transition-metal cations. Particularly for the Cu oxide, remarkable shortening of the
c-axis was observed upon heating up to 700
C under an Ar atmosphere. Such a contractionis likely to result from the
flattening of the CuO
4 unit toward a quasi-square planarcoordination.