Abstract: | Mercurous chloride was purified by repeated sublimation using multichamber distillation column. Single crystals were grown by Physical Vapour Transport technique. During the process of purification of the material, very interesting habit modifications like dendrites and needles were observed. Vickers hardness tests were carried out on the (110) plane of the crystal for different orientations of the indentor. The shape of the impressions for different orientations of the indentor reveals the non-cubic structure of the plane. No structural phase transition in mercurous chloride was observed in calorimetry and optical studies. |