Effect of Co2+ doping on solubility, crystal growth and properties of ADP crystals

Bulk size crystal growth of ADP with different concentrations doping of cobalt (Co2+) has been done by low cost slow evaporation technique at ambient conditions. The solubility measurement was carried out on pure and doped crystals and found that the solubility is decreasing with doping concentrations. The presence of Co2+ ion in crystalline matrix of ADP has been confirmed by structural, vibrational and elemental analyses. Scanning electron microscopic study reveals that the doping has strong effect on the quality of the crystals. The optical absorbance and transmission confirms the enhancement of quality of ADP crystals due to Co2+ doping and so the optical band gap. Further the dislocation, photoluminescence, dielectric and mechanical studies confirms that the properties of grown crystals with Co2+ doping has been enriched and propose it as a better candidate for optoelectronic applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.