Abstract
Gadolinium Neodymium Oxalate (GNO) single crystals were grown in hydrosilica gel by the diffusion of a mixture of aqueous solutions of the respective rare earth nitrates into a gel, impregnated with oxalic acid, in a test tube. Pink, transparent, hexagonal GNO crystals were obtained on optimization of growth parameters. The crystals are found to be monoclinic by the XRD analysis. The presence of water of hydration and carboxylic group in the grown crystals was confirmed by IR analysis. EDAX analysis confirmed the presence of Gd and Nd in the grown samples. The thermal decomposition behavior of the grown crystals were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The thermal analysis results concur with the proposed crystal structure.
Highlights
The compounds of rare earths, especially oxalates are technologically important on account of their luminescent, ferroelectric and ferroelastic behavior [1,2]
X-ray diffraction studies confirmed that gadolinium neodymium oxalate crystal belongs to the monoclinic system with space group P 2 1/C with Z = 2
The crystal structure is expected to be identical with that proposed by Sheng Hua Huang et al.[10] for lanthanum oxalate, as evidenced by the similarity of the lattice parameters of the double rare earth oxalate crystal as that of the single component ones
Summary
The compounds of rare earths, especially oxalates are technologically important on account of their luminescent, ferroelectric and ferroelastic behavior [1,2]. Superconducting compounds have been synthesized by the controlled precipitation of rare earth oxalates followed by calcination [3]. Czochralski technique has been employed for the growth of rare earth oxalates at elevated temperature [4]. These crystals are found to be defective due to thermal stresses introduced during growth. The gel technique [5] has been successfully employed for the growth of several rare earth oxalate crystals [6,7,8,9]. The authors report here the growth and structural characterization of gadolinium neodymium oxalate crystals in hydro-silica gel, and analysis of the thermal decomposition behaviour of the grown crystals
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
