Growth and characterization of Sm3+ doped cerium oxalate single crystals

Single crystals of Sm3+ doped cerium oxalate decahydrate were synthesized using single diffusion gel technique and the conditions influencing the size, morphology, nucleation density and quality of the crystals were optimized. Highly transparent single crystals of average size 3 mm × 2 mm × 1 mm with well-defined hexagonal morphology were grown during a time period of two weeks. X-ray powder diffraction analysis revealed that the grown crystals crystallize in the monoclinic system with space group P21/c as identical with the pure cerium oxalate. The various functional groups of the oxalate ligand and the water of crystallization were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The photoluminescence spectrum of the Sm3+ doped cerium oxalate indicated that the Sm3+ ions are optically active in the cerium oxalate matrix. The crystal has a strong and efficient orange red emission with a wavelength peak at 595 nm and hence can be effectively used for optical amplification. Microhardness measurements of the crystal revealed that they belong to the soft material category.