Journal of Materials Science, Vol.31, No.20, 5309-5312, 1996
Growth of Niwo4 Crystals from a Na2W2O7 Flux
Well-formed rod crystals of NiWO4 were grown from a Na2W2O7 flux by a slow cooling method. The solubility of NiWO4 in Na2W2O7 increased with increasing temperature. At 1100 degrees C, NiWO4 was dissolved in Na2W2O7 at a concentration of about 45 mol%. The eutectic temperature was 615 +/- 5 degrees C. Flux growth was conducted by heating mixtures at 1100 degrees C for 10 h, followed by cooling to 500 degrees C at a rate of 5 degrees C h(-1). The brownish and transparent crystals up to 15 mm in length were grown from the mixtures of about 40 g. The most suitable solute content was 30 mol%. The grown crystals were bounded by the {100}, {010}, {110}, {102}, and {111} faces. In certain instances, the {111} faces disappeared. The EPMA data showed that sodium from the flux used was not contained within the grown crystals. The crystals of NiWO4 had a d.c. electrical resistivity of about 1 x 10(11) Omega cm.