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Updated: Mar 8, 2026

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Flux versus Hydrothermal Growth: Polymorphism of A2(UO2)Si2O6 (A = Rb, Cs)
Gregory Morrison1, Mark D Smith1, Hans-Conrad Zur Loye1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina , Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States.
Abstract:
Single crystals of two new uranyl silicates were grown from mixed alkali fluoride/alkali chloride fluxes. Polymorphism is observed in Cs2(UO2)Si2O6, where hydrothermal conditions lead to the α polymorph and flux growth favors the β polymorph. Rb2(UO2)Si2O6 crystallizes in a monoclinic distortion of the α-Cs2(UO2)Si2O6 structure type with space group I2/a and lattice parameters a = 14.9932(5) Å, b = 14.8032(5) Å, c = 16.2377(9) Å, and β = 90.7220(10)°. β-Cs2(UO2)Si2O6 constitutes a new polymorph of Cs2(UO2)Si2O6 and crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2 with lattice parameters a = 12.136(2) Å, b = 10.0426(17) Å, c = 7.7896(13) Å, and β = 95.849(4)°. The two structures are compared, the driving force behind the observed polymorphism is discussed, and the luminescence properties are reported for each compound.
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