?
Direct observation of monoclinic domains in rhombohedral EuAl3(BO3)4 skeletal microcrystals.
The structural and spectroscopic features of the EuAl3(BO3)4 individual skeletal microcrystals synthesized by a melt solution method have been studied. Their infrared spectra taken from the as-grown microcrystal surfaces mainly contain the lines of the rhombohedral modification of EuAl3(BO3)4 and additional peaks of its monoclinic modification. TEM and X-ray diffraction studies confirm that these additional peaks in the IR spectra belong to the monoclinic C2/c polytype of the EuAl3(BO3)4 compound. We are the first to demonstrate the presence of coherent monoclinic domains in rhombohedral EuAl3(BO3)4 crystals by TEM. Cathodoluminance spectroscopy shows that the microcrystals generate strong emission lines in the range 580–630 nm, and their intensities are strongly influenced by the crystal orientation.