High temperature solution growth and characterization of Cr2AlC single crystals

• We report the growth of the first bulk single crystals of the Cr2AlC MAX phase ever produced.
• Single crystalline character is confirmed by X-ray pole figures.
• We confirm many of the structural properties already measured on polycrystalline phases.
• We show that the crystals can be cleaved parallel to their basal plane and observe the resulting surface using AFM microscopy.

Single crystalline platelets of the nanolaminated Cr2AlC phase have been produced by high temperature solution growth, with typical areas in the range of a few mm2. We present a set of characterization experiments which confirm the single crystalline character of the samples and focus on some specific aspects, all related to the nano-lamellar structure of this material. We show that the crystals can be cleaved or delaminated parallel to the basal plane, and we present atomic force microscope observations of those cleaved surfaces.