Crystal growth and characterization of gadolinium tartrate trihydrate: Gd(C4H4O6)(C4H5O6).3H2O

The growth of gadolinium tartrate trihydrate crystals is achieved in silica and agar-agar gels. The crystals are grown by diffusion of gadolinium ions through silica and agar-agar gels impregnated with L-tartaric acid. The type of medium influences the morphology of grown crystals: silica gel yielding single crystals and spherulites whereas agar-agar gel leads to growth of only single crystals. The grown crystals are characterized using energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX), carbon and hydrogen analysis (CHN), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric (TG), differential thermogravimetric (DTG) and differential thermal analysis. The chemical formula of the grown crystals is suggested to be Gd(C4H4O6)(C4H5O6).3H2O. The infrared spectrum indicates the presence of tartrate ligands and suggests that one of the tartrate ions is singly ionized. The thermal analysis shows that the material is thermally stable up to about 205 deg. C