Abstract
Well-formed crystals of calcium molybdate (CaMoO4) were grown from a sodium chloride (NaCl) flux. The solubility of CaMoO4 in NaCl increased with a rise in temperature, reaching 3.2mol% solubility at 900°C. The growth of CaMoO4 crystals was brought about by heating a mixture of solute and flux at 900°C for 10 h, followed by cooling to 550°C at a rate of 5°C/h. Colorless and transparent octahedral crystals up to 3mm in size were grown. The crystal sizes were dependent on the solute content. The long and short octahedral crystals were bounded by the {101} and {112} faces, respectively. Needle crystals up to 5.2 mm in length were obtained during every growth run. The needle crystals were elongated in the <001> directions, with respect ratios ranging from 160 to 670. The most suitable solute content for the growth of crystals was 3 mol%. Sodium chloride is an environment-friendly flux for growing CaMoO4 crystals.
