Solution growth of KDP single crystals doped with titanium dioxide nanoparticles

Pure KDP single crystals and KDP crystals doped with TiO2 nanocrystals were grown by the method of temperature reduction from aqueous solutions. Adsorption of the phosphate-ions on the surface of TiO2 particles was studied by FTIR spectroscopy. It was shown that the nanoparticles with adsorbed H2PO4– and (H2PO4)22–anions were incorporated predominantly into the positively charged face (1 0 1) of the pyramidal sector of KDP. High-resolution X-ray three-crystal diffractometry (TCD) investigation of the as grown samples of KDP + TiO2 revealed the presence of the turns of the growth layer “stacks” up to 3 arcsec in the growth sectors {1 0 0} and {1 0 1}. The observed thickness of these “stacks” was of the order of 20–30 μm. For KDP + TiO2 crystals there was found a relative change of the crystal lattice parameter (Δd/d) caused by incorporation of TiO2 nanoparticles into the boundaries of the growth layers. This gave rise to the formation of a semicoherent binding on the interface between the captured TiO2 and the matrix. No essential influence of the nanoparticles on the laser damage threshold of KDP with 10−5 wt.% of TiO2 was established.