Anisotropy in elastic properties of lithium sodium sulphate hexahydrate single crystal—An ultrasonic study

The double sulfate family (ABSO4), where A and B are alkali metal cations, is the object of great interest owing to the complexity and richness of its sequence of phase transition induced by temperature variation. A new sulfate salt characterized by the presence of water molecule in the unit cell with the chemical formula, Li2Na3(SO4)2·6H2O (LSSW), was obtained. The ultrasonic velocity measurement was done with pulse echo overlap technique [PEO]. All the six second order elastic stiffness constants, C 11 = C 22, C 33, C 44 = C 55, C 12, C 14 and C 13 = C 23 are reported for the first time. The anisotropy in the elastic properties of the crystal are well explained by the pictorial representation of the polar plots of phase velocity, slowness, Young’s modulus and linear compressibility in a–b and a–c planes.