Crystal growth and functional properties of rare mineral Mn3B7O13Cl

Abstract

Centimeter-sized Chambersite(Mn3B7O13Cl) crystals, a multifunctional polar material, were grown via a melt growth method. The crystal structures are determined by single-crystal and powder X-Ray diffraction(XRD). Furthermore, the properties of phase transition, pyroelectricity and low-temperature magnetic ordering are characterized. Mn3B7O13Cl crystallizes a polar space group Pca21 at room temperature which makes it a unity of pyroelectric and ferroelectric crystal. The pyroelectric coefficients of Mn3B7O13Cl keep almost unchanged from 300 K to 370 K with the values about 10 μC/m2/K, and the figures of merit (FOMs) of pyroelectric performance of 0.035 m2/C (voltage responsivity) and 0.036 × 10−10 m V−1 (current responsivity) are identified. These features indicate that Mn3B7O13Cl crystal can generate infrared detection in many application scenarios. Our works point out that Mn3B7O13Cl can be used as a low-cost substitute for LiTaO3 and a non-toxic substitute for PbTiO3 in the field of infrared detection.