Etching and Micro-Topographical Studies of Barium Oxalate Crystals Grown in Agar Gel

Paresh V. Dalal, Kishor B. Saraf

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DOI: 10.4236/jcpt.2011.11002                

Abstract

In the present study, the selection of an etchant for a particular crystal was purely made on empirical basis. The gel grown barium oxalate crystals were etched by HCl, HNO₃, BaCl₂, NH₄Cl, and NH₄Cl-HCl solutions. Micro-topographical studies have been made and it was found that elongated triangular etch pits and pits within pits were formed. Rectangular growth layers in the form of staircase and leaf like dendrite pattern were seen. Kinetics of etching was studied. Quantitative estimation of dissolved crystals in etchants was used for the determination of activation energy of reaction and pre-exponential factor with the help of Arrhenius equation.

Keywords

Etching, Barium Oxalate, Micro-Topographical Studies, Activation Energies

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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