Hydrothermal growth of quartz crystals in NaCl solution

Abstract

It has been shown that quartz crystals can be grown in NaCl solution by the hydrothermal temperature gradient method, and it was possible to produce large crystals after a few months. The effect of the various experimental conditions on the growth rates was investigated and observations of morphology and infrared absorption spectra were made. Two of the outstanding differences between quartz crystals grown in NaCl solution and those grown in alkaline solutions were that contrary to NaOH in NaCl striations were observed on the prism face and that the relative growth rates for the R and r faces were R > r.