BISMUTH GERMANIUM OXIDE Property

Melting point:

~1050°

Density 

7.13

refractive index 

n550 2.1204; n600 2.1058; n750 2.0786

form 

Powder

color 

White

Specific Gravity

7.13

Water Solubility 

Insoluble in water.

Hydrolytic Sensitivity

4: no reaction with water under neutral conditions

EPA Substance Registry System

Bismuth germanium oxide (Bi4Ge3O12) (12233-56-6)

Safety

TSCA 

Yes

Hazard and Precautionary Statements (GHS)

Symbol(GHS)

Signal word

Warning

Hazard statements

H315Causes skin irritation

H319Causes serious eye irritation

H335May cause respiratory irritation

Precautionary statements

P261Avoid breathing dust/fume/gas/mist/vapours/spray.

P304+P340IF INHALED: Remove victim to fresh air and Keep at rest in a position comfortable for breathing.

P305+P351+P338IF IN EYES: Rinse cautiously with water for several minutes. Remove contact lenses, if present and easy to do. Continuerinsing.

P405Store locked up.

BISMUTH GERMANIUM OXIDE Chemical Properties,Usage,Production

Description

Bismuth germanate is a cubic crystal with the formula, Bi4Ge3O12. It has the “evlitine” structure. A less common composition is Bi12GeO20 .
The unit cell consists of three GeO3 tetraheda arranged in a building block. These units are arranged in a cubic close-packed structure as shown in the above diagram. The crystal structure of tetrabismuth tris(germanate), Bi4Ge3O12 (I3d, Z =4), is stable to at least 7.30 GPa, as demonstrated by hydrostatic single-crystal XRD measurements in a diamond anvil cell at room temperature.

Chemical Properties

white chips or powder(s), 99.99995% purity [ALF93]

Uses

Bismuth germanate is used in detectors in particle physics, aerospace physics, nuclear medicine, geology exploration, and other industries. Bismuth germanate arrays are used for gamma pulse spectroscopy. BGO crystals are also used in detectors for positron emission tomography. Bismuth germanate has a high “electrooptic coefficient” (3.3 pm/V for Bi12GeO20) making it useful in nonlinear optics for building “Pockel cells”. It can also be used for photorefractive elements useful in the ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Uses

Bismuth germanium oxide is used as an organic chemical synthesis intermediate.

Uses

Scintillator crystal in nuclear physics, high-energy physics, geology, and nuclear medical imaging applications including PET, X-ray CT and positron CT; in electromagnetic calorimeters.