Structural, thermal and optical characterization of an organic NLO material--benzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone monohydrate single crystals

Single crystals of the organic NLO material, benzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (BTSC) monohydrate, were grown by slow evaporation method. Solubility of BTSC monohydrate was determined in ethanol at different temperatures. The grown crystals were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis to determine the cell parameters and by FT-IR technique to study the presence of the functional groups. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses reveal the thermal stability of the crystal. UV-vis-NIR spectrum shows excellent transmission in the region of 200-1100 nm. Theoretical calculations were carried out to determine the linear optical constants such as extinction coefficient and refractive index. Further the optical nonlinearities of BTSC have been investigated by Z-scan technique with He-Ne laser radiation of wavelength 632.8 nm. Mechanical properties of the grown crystal were studied using Vickers microhardness tester. Second harmonic generation efficiency of the powdered BTSC monohydrate was tested using Nd:YAG laser and it is found to be ～5.3 times that of potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate.