In situ observation of β‐BaB2O4 microcrystal growth in glass matrix

The morphological evolution and growth mechanism of β‐BaB₂O₄ microcrystal in Li₂B₄O₇‐BaB₂O₄ glass (Li₂O‐B₂O₃‐BaO) matrix were investigated by optical in situ observation method. And the crystallization temperature T_c has been examined by differential thermal analysis (DTA). It demonstrates that homogeneous distribution of hexagonal shaped BBO microcrystals with size up to several tens of microns is typical when temperature is much higher than T_c, however, heterogeneous nucleation occurs when annealing temperature is close to T_c. For the latter case, crystal clusters that consist of several microcrystal grains are obvious. When the crystals in one specific cluster grows larger, crystal motion occurs in glass matrix while their orientation and symmetrical shape keep nearly no changes. Additionally, the BBO microcrystal has been determined to grow nearly in linear with time, which suggests a mechanism of interface‐controlled growth. Furthermore, the activation energy of BBO crystal growth in glass matrix is calculated which is around 2.4 eV. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Three‐step process improves crystal quality of Cu2ZnSnS4 absorber layer and efficiency of solar cell

Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) films are fabricated using the three‐step process, including deposition, preheating and sulfurization of Cu–Zn–Sn (CZT) precursors. The effect of preheating temperature on structures, morphologies, and optical properties of CZTS films is investigated detailedly by X‐ray diffraction, Raman spectra, scanning electron microscopy, and UV spectrophotometer. It is found that the proper preheating temperature can improve the crystal quality of CZTS films. The prepared CZTS film by sulfurizing the preheated precursor at 300 °C presents high crystallinity, uniform surface morphology, and suitable optical properties. Compared with two‐step process, three‐step method can not only improve crystal quality of CZTS films but also decline sulfurization temperature. We also discuss the mechanism of improving the properties of CZTS absorber layer by the preheating route in detail. In addition, the experimental results also indicate that solar cell prepared by three‐step method displays higher conversion efficiency.     

Analysis of current ‐ voltage ‐ temperature characteristics of In and Cu contacts on n‐type MoSe2 single crystals

The current voltage characteristics of In / Cu with n‐type MoSe₂ Schottky diodes were measured over a wide temperature range 50 < T < 300 K. The interface formed by In and MoSe₂ shows ohmic behavior after annealing the contact at 100 °C for 12 h. The ohmic nature was retained at all the measured temperatures. The Cu ‐ nMoSe2 interface formed a Schottky junction diode with a good rectification ratio. The Schottky barrier height and the ideality factor thereby obtained were 0.72 eV and 1.45, respectively, at room temperature. Below room temperature, the barrier height and the ideality factor vary with decreasing temperature. The changes are significant at low temperatures. Barrier height inhomogeneities at the interface cause deviation in the zero‐bias barrier height and the ideality factor at low temperatures, and produce extra current such that I‐V characteristics remain consistent with the thermionic emission mechanism. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of the Temperature Fluctuation of the Melt on β‐BaB2O4 (BBO) Crystal Growth

In this paper the effect of the growth temperature fluctuation, for instance, the transient furnace temperature variation due to a short‐term electric power supply interruption on BBO crystal growth was investigated based on the theory of temperature wave transmitting in melt and the boundary layer theory of melt. It was found that the critical width of the temperature pulse to avoid the temperature wave penetrating through the boundary layer and reaching to the growth interface at a constant rotation speed (9∼4 r/min) is 69∼150 s and the corresponding amplitude of the temperature pulse is high more than 60 °C due to the large thickness of the velocity boundary layer of the melt. This result indicates that a small transient temperature fluctuation has no significant effect on the crystal quality, and therefore implies that not only transport processes but interface growth kinetics, a two‐dimensional nucleation growth mode at the interface may also dominate the crystal growth.     

On the Iso‐Diameter Growth of β ‐BaB2O4 (BBO) Crystals by Flux Pulling Method

The iso‐diameter growth of β ‐BaB₂O₄ (BBO) crystals by the flux pulling method have been studied based on the phase equilibrium diagram in the BaB₂O₄‐Na₂O pseudo‐binary system and from the interface stability. The mathematical expressions for the cooling rate in the growth of the crystals with constant diameter under stable growth conditions are derived, the experimental phenomena such as diameter contraction and difficulty to grow a lengthy crystal by the flux pulling method are explained, the prerequisite for iso‐diameter BBO crystal growth from the flux is suggested; a new continuous charging flux pulling method is introduced to grow large‐sized high quality crystals with a relative high growth rate.     

Experimental Study of Interface Inversion of Tb3ScxAl5‐xO12 Single Crystals Grown by the Czochralski Method

Thermal conditions and rotation rate were examined experimentally for obtaining a flat interface growth of high melting‐point oxide (Tb₃Sc_xAl_5‐xO₁₂ ‐ TSAG) by the Czochralski method. The critical crystal rotation rate can be significantly reduced, of about twice at low and very low temperature gradients comparing to medium temperature gradients in the melt and surroundings of the crystal. The interface shape of TSAG crystals is not very sensitive on crystal rotation rate at small rotations and becomes very sensitive at higher rotations, when the interface transition takes place. The range of crystal rotation rates during the interface transition from convex to concave decreases with a decrease of temperature gradients. At low temperature gradients interface inversion crystals takes place in very narrow range of rotation rates, which does not allow one to growth such crystals with the flat interface. Even changing crystal rotation rate during the growth process in a suitable manner did not prevent the interface inversion from convex to concave and thus did not allow to obtain and maintain the flat interface.     

Growth and characterization of thiourea mixed cadmium – lead chloride – a nonlinear optical crystal

Nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal of thiourea mixed cadmium–lead chloride dihydrate Cd[(PbCl₃)(NH₂CSNH₂)].2H₂O (TCCPC) have been grown in solution by slow evaporation technique at room temperature. The powder X‐ray diffraction pattern has been recorded and indexed. The UV‐Vis‐NIR transmittance and FT‐IR spectrum have been recorded in the range 200‐1090 nm and 400‐4000 cm^‐1, respectively. The lower cut‐off wavelength is 280 nm in the UV region, which is higher than that of pure Cd(PbCl₃) (CCPC) crystal. The presence of functional groups has been confirmed by FT‐IR analysis. The TCCPC crystal was characterized by SEM and EDX spectrum. The second harmonic generation (SHG) of the thiourea mixed cadmium–lead chloride (TCCPC) crystal is demonstrated by the Kurtz Perry method using Nd:YAG laser and the results confirm that the grown crystal is roughly three times more efficient than ADP. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth and properties of an organometallic nonlinear optical crystal: bis(isothiocyanato)‐bis(4‐methylpyridine)zinc(II) (Zn(SCN)2(C6H7N)2)

Bis(isothiocyanato)‐bis(4‐methylpyridine)zinc(II)(Zn(SCN)₂(C₆H₇N)₂), (abbreviated as ZBNC) single crystals of optical quality have been grown from acetone solution by the slow temperature‐lowering method. Its solubilities at different temperatures in acetone were measured. The X‐ray powder diffraction (XRPD) spectroscopy of ZBNC crystal was performed at room temperature. The second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency was determined by powder technique of Kurtz and Perry using Nd:YAG laser, which is equivalent to KDP crystal. The thermal decomposition process was characterized by thermal gravity and differential thermal analysis (TG\DTA). The specific heat of the crystal is 1440.67 J/mol·K at 325 K. The IR spectrum was recorded in the 500∼3500 cm^–1 region, using KBr pellets on a Nicolet 170sx FT‐IR spectrometer. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Crystal and molecular structure of 1‐allyl‐5‐(4‐methylbenzoyl)‐4‐(4‐methylphenyl)pyrimidine‐2(1H)‐thione

The crystal structure of 1‐allyl‐5‐(4‐methylbenzoyl)‐4‐(4‐methylphenyl)pyrimidine‐2(1H)‐thione (C₂₂H₂₀N₂OS) has been determined from three dimensional single crystal X‐ray diffraction data. The title compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P 2₁/c, with a = 10.6674(13), b = 10.1077(7), c = 17.9467(19) Å, β = 98.460(9)°, V = 1914.0(3) ų, D_calc = 1.251 g cm^–3, Z = 4. In the title compound, the allyl group shows positional disorder. Molecules are linked by C‐H···O, C‐H···N and C‐H···S intermolecular interactions forming two‐dimensional network. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Phase‐selective crystallization of nickel phosphate VSB‐5 with (2‐hydroxyethyl) trimethylammonium hydroxide as template

Several nickel phosphate molecular sieves were synthesized by conventional heating (CH) and microwave assisted hydrothermal (MAH). Nickel phosphate VSB‐5 (Versailles Santa Barbara‐5) was synthesized with conventional oven for 72 h or with microwave for 1 h and followed by conventional oven for 48 h in the presence of (2‐hydroxyethyl) trimethylammonium hydroxide as template. The phase transformation is observed by variation of CH time for the synthesis of nickel phosphate molecular sieves. At CH time of 24 h, the VSB‐5 crystal together α‐Ni₂P₂O₇, Ni₂P₄O₁₂ and unknown phases were produced but the pure VSB‐5 crystal was obtained in the CH time of 48 h or more. At high content of nickel, a mixture of α‐Ni₂P₂O₇, Ni₂P₄O₁₂ phases and small amount of VSB‐5 crystal, was achieved but pure VSB‐5 crystal was obtained in the lower level of nickel and other phases are vanished. An efficient ultrasonic‐assisted aging was found for the synthesis of nickel phosphate molecular sieve, in which by ultrasonic mixing of 0.5 h followed microwave of 1 h, the CH time is significantly reduced from 48 to 24 h. The morphology of nickel phosphate crystals is highly influenced in the presence of ethylene glycol as co‐solvent. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Growth of bubble-free Ti-doped Al2O3 single crystal by the czochralski method

The behaviour of bubble entrapment in Ti-doped Al₂O₃ single crystals grown by the Czochralski method was studied from the view point of crystal growth conditions such as the crystal rotation rate and kinds of growth atmosphere. The entrapment of bubbles was not correlated with the shape of solid-liquid interface dependent on crystal rotation rate. We found that the use fo He atmosphere, instead of the conventional atmosphere such as Ar, suppresses the formation of bubbles.     

Synthesis and characterization of compounds LixMn1+xFe2–2xO4 with spinel structure in the quasiternary system “LiO0,5 – MnOx – FeOx“

The thermal decomposition of freeze‐dried Li‐Mn(II)‐Fe(III)‐formate precursors was investigated by means of DTA, TG and mass spectroscopy. By the thermal treatment of the prefired precursors between 400 and 1000°C, single phase solid solutions Li_xMn_1+xFe_2–2xO₄ (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) with cubic spinel structure were obtained. To get single phase spinels, special conditions concerning the temperature T and the oxygen partial pressure p(O₂) during the synthesis are required. Because of the high reactivity of the freeze‐dried precursors, in comparison with the conventional solid state reaction, the reaction temperature can be lowered by 200°C. The cation distribution and the properties of the Li‐Mn‐ferrites were studied by chemical analysis, X‐ray powder diffraction and magnetization measurements. It was found that for high substitution rates, almost all lithium occupies the tetrahedral coordinated A‐sites of the spinel lattice AB₂O₄, while at small x‐values, lithium ions are distributed over the tetrahedral and octahedral sites. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Properties of AgGa1‐xInxSe2 single crystals grown by Bridgman method

High‐pure and single‐phase AgGa_1‐xIn_xSe₂ (x=0.2) polycrystalline was synthesized by the mechanical and temperature oscillation method. Adopting the modified Bridgman method an integral AgGa_1‐xIn_xSe₂ single crystal with diameter of 14 mm and length of 35 mm has been obtained at the rate of 6 mm/day. It was found that there is a new cleavage face which was (101), and observed the four order X‐ray spectrum of the {101} faces. By the method of DSC analysis the melting and freezing points of the AgGa_1‐xIn_xSe₂ (x=0.2) single crystal were about 828°C and 790°C. The transmission spectra of the AgGa_1‐xIn_xSe₂ (x=0.2) sample of 5×6×2 mm³ were obtained by means of UV and IR spectrophotometer. The limiting frequency was 774.316nm and the band gap was 1.6eV. It can be found in the infrared spectrum that the infrared transmission was above 60% from 4000cm^‐1 to 600cm^‐1. The value of α in 5.3µm and 10.6µm were 0.022cm^‐1 and 0.1cm^‐1 respectively. All results showed that the crystal was of good quality. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Crystal structure of 4‐(1‐methyl‐1‐mesitylcyclobutane‐3‐yl)‐2‐aminothiazole

The crystal structure of 4‐(1‐methyl‐1‐mesitylcyclobutane‐3‐yl)‐2‐aminothiazole (C₁₇H₂₂N₂S₁) has been determined by X‐ray crystallographic techniques. The compound crystallizes in the triclinic space group P‐1 with Z = 6. The crystal structure was solved by direct methods and refined by full‐matrix least squares to a final R‐value of 0.052 for 2298 observed reflections [I > 2σ ( I ) ]. There are three crystallographically independent molecules, I, II and III. These molecules are held together by intermolecular N‐H...N hydrogen bonds. © 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim     

Crystal growth of zirconium‐doped KTiOPO4 crystals in the K2O‐P2O5‐TiO2‐ZrF4 system

Zirconium‐doped KTiOPO₄ (KTP) crystals were grown using a high temperature flux method in the K₂O‐P₂O₅‐TiO₂‐ZrF₄ system. The dopant content in the single crystals with general composition KTi_1‐xZr_xOPO₄ (where x = 0 – 0.026) strongly depends on zirconium concentration in the homogeneous melts. AES‐ICP method and X‐ray fluorescence analysis were used to determine the composition of the obtained crystals. Phase analyses of the products were performed using the powder XRD. The structures of KTiOPO₄ containing different quantities of Zr were refined on the basis of single crystal XRD data. Applying ZrF₄ precursor for zirconium injection into the flux allowed growing the zirconium‐doped KTP crystals at 930–750°C. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effective electro‐optic coefficient of (1–x)Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–xPbTiO3 single crystals

Refractive indices and effective electro‐optic coefficient γ_c of (1–x)Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃–xPbTiO₃ (PZN‐xPT, x = 0.05, 0.09 and 0.12) single crystals were measured at 532 nm wavelength. Orientation and temperature dependences of the electro‐optic coefficient were investigated. Large electro‐optic coefficient (γ_c = 470 pm/V) was observed in [001]‐poled PZN‐0.09PT crystal. More importantly, γ_c of tetragonal PZN‐0.12PT is almost unchanged in a temperature range −20 ∼ 80 °C. The γ_c of PZN‐xPT single crystals are much higher than that of widely used electro‐optic crystal LiNbO₃ (γ_c = 20 pm/V). These results show that PZN‐xPT single crystals are very promising materials for electro‐optic modulators in optical communications.     

Crystal structure of 2‐(3‐amino‐2,4,4‐tricyano‐buta‐1,3‐dienyl)‐ thiophene

The title compound (C₁₁H₆N₄S) crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca with a = 23.561(4) Å, b = 7.064(1) Å, c = 13.018(3) Å, Z = 8; D_x = 1.387(1) g.cm^‐3 ; R = 0.073 for 1697 observed reflections [F2 ≥ 2σ(F²)]. The interesting feature is disorder in the crystal structure resulting from the existence of two isomeric molecules with interchangable carbon and sulfur positions, occuring at random but with equal probability in the structure.     

α‐Fe2O3 nanospindles loaded with ZnO nanocrystals: Synthesis and improved gas sensing performance

ZnO/α‐Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites were fabricated through a two‐step hydrothermal method. The morphology and composition of the as‐synthesized products were characterized by X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The gas sensing properties of the fabricated products were investigated towards ethanol, acetone, propanol, isopropanol, formaldehyde, chloroform and so on. The results demonstrated that the ZnO/α‐Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites exhibited excellent sensing properties and showed remarkably higher sensing responses and much lower optimum operating temperature compared to individual ZnO and α‐Fe₂O₃. In addition, the ZnO/α‐Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites have some selectivity for ethanol, propanol and isopropanol. The possible gas sensing mechanism was also proposed. Our studies demonstrate that our fabricated materials could be widely used in the future.     

The Crystal and Molecular Structure of 2‐[(3,4‐dimethoxybenzylidene)amino]adamantane

The crystal structure of the title compound, C₁₉H₂₅NO₂ was determined by single crystal X‐ray diffraction technique. The crystal data are Orthorombic, space group Pbca, with a = 9.2119(4), b = 9.5555(4), c = 37.6049(5) Å, Z = 8, T = 293(2) K, MoKα radiation, λ = 0.71073 Å, Mr = 299.40, R = 0.0839 for 1945 reflections with I > 2σ(I). The title compound shows intermolecular C‐H…O type interactions.     

The Crystal and Molecular Structure of (μ‐terephthlato) bis [(N‐Salicylidene ‐N'‐(2‐hydroxyethyl) ethylenediamine) Copper(II)]

The title compound [[Cu(shen)]₂(tp)], {[Cu(C₁₅H₁₇O₄N₂)]2}, where tp = dianion of terephthalic acid and shen = (N‐salicylidene‐N'‐(2‐hydroxyethyl ethylene‐diamine)) has been prepared and its crystal structure determined by single crystal X‐ray diffraction at room temperature. The complex crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbca with four formula units in a unit cell of dimensions a = 12.298(2), b = 14.214(2) and c = 16.436(2)Å. The structure consists of binuclear units with Cu(II) ion bridged by the tp ligand in a bis‐unidentate fashion. The five coordinate Cu(II) complex adopts a distorted square‐based pyramid. A crystallographic inversion center has been located at the center of the benzene ring of the tp bridging ligand. The Cu … Cu distance inside a same binuclear entity is 11.069Å. Intermolecular aromatic ring stacking interactions were observed with the shortest atom to atom contact being 3.423Å.