Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol.486, 117-121, 2018
On melt solutions for the growth of CaTiO3 crystals
When calcium titanate crystals are grown from stoichiometric melts, they crystallize in the cubic perovskite structure. Upon cooling to room temperature they undergo subsequent phase transitions to tetragonal and orthorhombic modifications. These phase transitions are disruptive and result in severely damaged crystals. This paper presents differential thermal analysis data for several prospective solvents, with the aim to identify a system offering the possibility to perform crystal growth of undistorted CaTiO3 crystals by crystallizing them significantly below the melting point directly in the low temperature modification. From mixtures CaF2: TiO2: CaTiO3 = 3:1:1 (molar ratio) the growth of undistorted, at least millimeter-sized CaTiO3 crystals is possible. (C) 2018 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.