A new advance in crystal growth of two-dimensional strontium cuprate-borate

From the viewpoint of crystal chemistry, the chemical formula of strontium cuprate-borate (SCB) is represented as Sr[Cu2B2O6]. New data on the flux growth of SCB have been obtained. SCB single crystals with good quality have been successfully grown from Na2B4O7-based high-temperature solutions, as a result of lowering the temperature from 900 to 750 °C at a cooling rate of 6-10 °C/day. Their size increases with a lower cooling rate of the fluxed melt. Some SCB crystals displayed strongly developed growth striations on the {0 0 1} faces. Magnetic properties have been studied as a function of temperature and magnetic field.