Synthesis,growth of single crystals and their characterization: l-Alaninium maleate (LAM)

In recent days amino acid single crystals are gaining importance due to good optical behavior. The title compound consists of l-alanine; an amino acid and maleic acid; an aromatic organic compound. It has been successfully synthesized and the single crystal has been grown by slow evaporation solution growth. The grown single crystal has been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis and FTIR measurements. The crystalline perfection was examined by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) technique and found that the specimen quality is quite good. Optical behavior has been assessed by UV–Vis analysis and found that there is no absorption in the entire visible region. The relative second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency measurement reveals that the incorporation of maleic acid to l-alanine leads to increase its value of SHG. The mechanical behavior and the thermal analysis have been carried out using Vickers microhardness and TG/DTA measurements respectively. Its hyperpolarizability was estimated by density functional theory (DFT).     

Studies on growth and characterization of l-alanine strontium chloride trihydrate single crystals for optical applications

The optically transparent nonlinear optical single crystals of l-alanine strontium chloride trihydrate (LASCT) were grown by slow evaporation solution growth method using water as solvent. The purity of the crystals was increased by the method of recrystallization. The grown crystals were analyzed by the single crystal X-ray diffraction pattern which proved that LASCT belongs to monoclinic crystal system. The presence of various functional groups and modes of vibrations were identified by FTIR spectroscopy. The optical absorption study confirms the suitability of the crystal for device applications. The thermal strength and the decomposition of the grown crystals were studied using TG/DTA analyses. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss measurements of the grown crystals at different frequencies of the applied field were measured and reported. The mechanical strength of the crystal is estimated by Vicker's hardness test. The nonlinear optical properties of the grown crystals were confirmed by second harmonic generation test which shows the suitability of NLO applications.     

Synthesis-spectroscopic,optical and thermal properties of l-alanine ammonium chloride – A semiorganic crystal

Good quality single crystals of semiorganic nonlinear optical material l-alanine ammonium chloride was grown by slow evaporation technique. The grown crystals were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction to determine the unit cell parameters. The FTIR spectra were recorded to identify the various functional groups present in the compound. The optical quality of the grown crystal was analyzed by the UV–vis transmission studies. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis reveal the good thermal stability of the material. The grown crystals have also been subjected to nonlinear optical property studies.     

A new NLO Material: L-Asparagine thiocyanate (LATC) for opto-electronic applications

L-asparagine monohydrade thiocyanate (LATC), which is potentially a non-linear optical crystal, was grown by the conventional slow evaporation solution technique (SEST) using doubly de-ionized water at room temperature. The lattice parameters were found by using single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Perfection of the grown crystal was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction. The various functional groups were identified from FT-IR analysis. The optical parameters, such as the optical absorption, the band gap, photoluminescence and second harmonic generation (SHG), were analyzed on the grown crystal. The induced surface laser damage threshold was measured using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The thermal behavior and stability of the grown crystal was analyzed by TG/DTA analysis. The dielectric constant (ε_r) and dielectric loss (tanδ) as a function of frequency has been investigated at different temperatures. The mechanical property of the grown crystal was studied using the Vickers micro hardness method.     

Determination of second order nonlinear optical entities for l-alanine single crystals using semi-classical anharmonic oscillator model

The second order nonlinear optical properties associated with second harmonic generation and linear electro-optic effect have been computed for l-alanine amino acid single crystals using semi-classical anharmonic oscillator model. The data obtained for l-alanine were compared with the optical parameters of similar amino acid single crystal. The results have been discussed in detail.     

Spectral,NLO, thermal,hardness and SEM studies of phosphate doped bis-urea oxalic acid crystals for laser applications

Phosphate doped bis-urea oxalic acid (PBUO) crystals were grown using the aqueous solution by slow evaporation technique. Single crystal XRD study indicates that the sample crystallizes in monoclinic structure. The mechanical parameters like hardness, yield strength and stiffness constant of the crystal were determined by using the Vickers hardness tester. UV-visible spectral studies were done to determine the various linear optical parameters. Second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency was measured for the grown crystal of PBUO to understand the nonlinear optical activity. TG/DTA analysis shows that the PBUO crystal is thermally stable upto 170 °C. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) was carried out by recording the EDAX spectrum of the grown crystal to identify elements in the sample. The grown PBUO crystals were also characterized by FTIR, SEM, PL, LDT and impedance studies.     

Studies on optical, mechanical and transport properties of NLO active l-alanine formate single crystal grown by modified Sankaranarayanan-Ramasamy (SR) method

Bulk single crystals of l-alanine formate of 10 mm diameter and 50 mm length have been grown with an aid of modified Sankaranarayanan-Ramasamy (SR) uniaxial crystal growth method within a period of ten days. The optical properties of the grown crystal were calculated from UV transmission spectral analysis. The second harmonic generation efficiency of the grown crystal was confirmed by Kurtz powder test. In order to determine the mechanical strength of the crystal, Vicker’s microhardness test was carried along the growth plane (0 0 1). Dielectric studies reveal that both dielectric constant and dielectric loss decreases with increase in frequency. Photoconductivity study confirms the negative photoconducting nature of the crystal.     

Ultrasound-assisted intensified crystallization of L-glutamic acid: Crystal nucleation and polymorph transformation

In this paper, the crystallization of L-glutamic acid with application of ultrasound was explored in detail, including the process of nucleation, polymorphic control and polymorphic transformation. The induction time and metastable zone widths (MSZWs) were measured with and without ultrasound during the nucleation process. The induction time and MSZWs were decreased by ultrasound and the induction time was further decreased by higher ultrasonic power. The calculated nucleation parameters (such as interfacial energy, critical nucleus size and critical Gibbs energy) showed an obvious decrease in the presence of ultrasound, indicating that the nucleation was enhanced with application of ultrasound. By adjusting the ultrasonic power in the quench cooling process, the difference in nucleation temperatures would determine the distribution of polymorphs. In further, the polymorphic transformation was investigated quantitatively, and to the best of our knowledge, it was the first time to study the transformation kinetics with ultrasound using Avrami-Erofeev model. In the transformation process, the crystallization mechanism of the stable form was modified by ultrasound. The ultrasound eliminated the nucleation element in the rate-limiting step and facilitated the crystal growth of stable form. Thus, the ultrasound has a profound influence on L-glutamic acid crystallization.     

Growth,linear and nonlinear optical studies on guanidinium 4-nitrobenzoate (GuNB): An organic NLO material

Single crystals of guanidinium 4-nitrobenzoate (GuNB) were grown using solvent evaporation technique by mixing aqueous solutions of guanidine carbonate and 4-nitrobenzoic acid at ambient temperature. X-ray diffraction analysis characterized the unit cell parameters of the grown crystal and the crystal belongs to monoclinic system. The optical properties of the grown crystal have been studied by means of transmission measurements in the wavelength region between 200 and 1200 nm. The optical constants such as refractive index (n) and extinction coefficient (k) have been determined from the transmittance data. The optical band gap (E_g), the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant of the grown crystal was determined. Second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of the grown crystal has been studied using Nd:YAG laser and was measured as 3.2 times that of KDP. The low dielectric constant suggests the suitability of this compound material for NLO applications.     

Effect of urea and thiourea on nonlinear optical hippuric acid crystals

Pure, urea and thiourea doped hippuric acid (HA) single crystals have been grown in acetone using slow evaporation technique at a constant temperature, with the vision to improve the properties of the crystals. The crystal systems and the unit cell parameters of the grown crystals were identified from single crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystalline nature of the grown crystals was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction and the diffraction peaks were indexed. The variations in composition due to the addition of dopants were identified by CHNS analysis. FT-IR studies reveal the presence of different vibrational bands. The optical characteristics were assessed by UV–vis analysis and it indicates the transmission in the visible region. TGA and DSC studies indicate the thermal behavior of pure and doped crystals. The Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) has been tested using Kurtz Powder Technique for the pure and doped crystals. It is found that the thiourea doped hippuric acid crystals have SHG efficiency of 2.08 times higher than that of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) single crystal. The dielectric studies were carried out, and the variations of dielectric constant and dielectric loss with temperature have been studied.     

Growth,optical and electrical studies of the nonlinear optical crystal: Glycine thiourea

Single crystals of the nonlinear optical material glycine thiourea were grown by the slow evaporation technique. The crystal structure and lattice parameters were determined for the grown crystal by the single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Single crystal XRD revealed that the material crystallized in a monoclinic crystal system. Optical studies have been carried out and it was found that the tendency of transmission observed from the specimen with respect to the wavelength of light, is practically more suitable for opto-electronic applications. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss and ac conductivity of the compound were calculated at different temperatures and frequencies, to analyze the electrical properties. The photoconductive behavior of the material is also investigated and the results are discussed.     

Studies on optical,mechanical, dielectric properties of bisthiourea nickel bromide NLO single crystal

Bisthiourea nickel bromide (BTNB) single crystal has been grown by solution growth technique at room temperature. The crystal structure and lattice parameters were determined for the grown crystal by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Optical constants like band gap, refractive index, reflectance, extinction coefficient and electric susceptibility were determined from UV–vis-NIR spectrum. Nonlinear optical property was discussed to confirm the SHG efficiency of the grown crystal. The mechanical strength of the grown crystal was analyzed using Vickers microhardness tester. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of bisthiourea nickel bromide are measured in the frequency range of 50 Hz to 5 MHz at different temperatures. The ac conductivity studies were carried out on bisthiourea nickel bromide crystals. In order to investigate the growth mechanism and surface features, etching studies are carried out for the crystal. Photoconductivity studies were carried out on bisthiourea nickel bromide crystals.     

Growth,optical, mechanical,dielectric and theoretical properties of picolinium maleate NLO single crystal

Nonlinear optical single crystals of picolinium maleate (PM) were grown by slow evaporation method. The grown crystal was subjected to single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis to confirm that the crystal belongs to the monoclinic crystal structure with space group P2₁/c. The optical transmission range of the grown crystal was measured by UV–Vis–NIR region with the lower cut-off wavelength as 330 nm. The optical bandgap is found to be 3.75 eV. Mechanical strength of the grown crystal was analyzed using Vickers microhardness tester. Dielectric constant and dielectric loss of picolinium maleate are measured in the frequency range from 50 Hz to 5 MHz at different temperatures. Further, electronic properties, such as valence electron plasma energy, Penn gap, Fermi energy and electronic polarizability of the grown crystal have been estimated.     

Growth and characterization of a novel organic nonlinear optical material: l-alanine 2-furoic acid

l-alanine 2-furoic acid (LA2FA), a novel organic third order nonlinear optical material was grown by slow solvent evaporation technique at room temperature. The grown single crystals were characterized by XRD, spectral, thermal, optical, dielectric and third order nonlinear properties. LA2FA crystallizes into triclinic system with the space group P1. The cell parameters are found to be a = 3.97 Å, b = 7.09 Å, c = 10.69 Å, α = 73.61°, β = 83.57°, γ = 84.21° and V = 286 Å3. The modes of vibrations of different molecular groups present in LA2FA were identified by FTIR studies. The optical transparency of the grown crystals was investigated by UV–visible spectrum. The absorption spectrum reveals that the crystal has a high UV cut off of 245 nm and photonic band gap of 2.5 eV. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) study has been carried out to determine the surface morphology of the grown crystal. The thermal behavior of the crystal investigated using thermo gravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) indicates that the material does not decompose before melting. The third order NLO property was studied in detail by z-scan technique.     

Growth and characterization of L-histidinium fumarate fumaric acid monohydrate single crystal: A promising second and third order nonlinear optical material

L-histidinium Fumarate Fumaric acid Monohydrate (LHFFAM), an organic nonlinear optical single crystal[C₁₄H₁₉N₃O₁₁], has been synthesized and grown using aqueous solution by slow evaporation technique at room temperature. Crystal structure details were obtained from single crystal XRD. The coordination of functional groups was identified in the grown crystal by FTIR analysis. The UV-absorption studies evince the transparent nature of the crystal is in the visible region and the optical band gap energy E_g was evaluated. The TG/DSC analyses confirm the thermal stability for the as-grown crystal. The Vickers microhardness test was carried out on the grown crystals and there by Vickers hardness number (H_v), work hardening coefficient (n), yield strength (σ_y), stiffness constant C₁₁ were evaluated. The dielectric behaviour of LHFFAM has been determined in the frequency range 50 Hz to 5 MHz at various temperatures. Kurtz-Perry and Z-scan techniques were performed for the acentric crystal LHFFAM which highlighted good nonlinear response and hence proves it appropriate for frequency conversion process and photonic device fabrications.     

A new metal-organic nonlinear optical material: L-Asparagine Indium chloride (LAIn) for photonics application

Single crystal of l-Asparagine Indium chloride (LAIn), a new semi-organic crystal was grown by slow evaporation method with deionized water as solvent at ambient condition. The crystal structure of LAIn has been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction and the result shows that the crystal belongs to the orthorhombic system with P2₁2₁2₁ space group. The crystalline nature of grown crystal was analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction analysis. Optical parameters, such as absorbance, transmittance and optical band gap energy were analyzed using UV–Vis NIR transmittance data at the range of 190–800?nm. The ultraviolet (UV) emission nature of the sample was established from the sharp emission peaks in photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. The photo conductivity test exhibits that the grown crystal has positive photo conductive nature. The induced surface laser damage threshold (LDT) for the grown crystal was measured using Nd:YAG laser. The nonlinear optical efficiency of the LAIn crystal was studied using modified Kurtz-Perry powder technique. The hardness, Meyer index, yield strength and elastic stiffness constant were calculated for the grown crystal using Vickers microhardness tester. The variation of dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the grown crystals as a function of frequency has been investigated at different temperatures. The melting point and thermal stability of the LAIn single crystal have been studied by thermo gravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA).     

On the existence of “l-alanine 2-furoic acid”

We argue that the recently reported crystal “l-alanine 2-furoic acid” [B. Uma, R. Samuel Selvaraj, S. Krishnan, B. Milton Boaz, Growth and characterization of a novel organic nonlinear optical material: l-alanine 2-furoic acid. Optik 125 (2014), 651–656] actually is 2-furoic acid.     

Unidirectional growth of l-alanine single crystal: NLO material from the amino acid family

Single crystal of l-alanine (LALA) has been grown by using the Sankaranarayanan and Ramasamy (SR) method. The identity of the crystal was confirmed using single crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystalline perfection was evaluated using high-resolution X-ray diffractometry (HRXRD). Infrared (IR) spectroscopic, UV–vis–NIR spectral and second harmonic generation (SHG) conversion efficiency studies were carried out. Microhardness measurements and thermal studies of the compound were made and reported.     

Growth and optimization of optical traits of copper sulphate crystal exploiting L-ascorbic acid for photonic device applications

In current investigation organic ligand of _L-ascorbic acid (LAA) has been firstly exploited to tune the optical properties of copper sulphate (CuS) single crystal. The pure and LAA influenced CuS crystal has been grown from aqueous solution by slow evaporation process. The powder X-ray diffraction technique has been employed to identify the crystal planes and evaluate the structural parameters of grown crystals. The functional groups of LAA influenced CuS (LAA-CuS) crystal has been recognized by Fourier transform infrared analysis. The impact of LAA on optical transmittance of CuS crystal has been examined within 200-900 nm by means of UV-visible spectral analysis. The Z-scan technique has been employed to examine the third order nonlinear optical (TONLO) properties of pure and LAA-CuS crystal. The eye-catching effect of LAA in switching the nonlinear refraction behavior of CuS crystal from self-focusing to self-defocusing has been explored. The magnitude of TONLO refractive index (n₂), absorption coefficient (β) and susceptibility (χ³) of pristine and LAA-CuS crystal has been comparatively evaluated using the Z-scan transmittance data.     

Lysozyme crystallization in hydrogel media under ultrasound irradiation

Sonocrystallization implies the application of ultrasound radiation to control the nucleation and crystal growth depending on the actuation time and intensity. Its application allows to induce nucleation at lower supersaturations than required under standard conditions. Although extended in inorganic and organic crystallization, it has been scarcely explored in protein crystallization. Now, that industrial protein crystallization is gaining momentum, the interest on new ways to control protein nucleation and crystal growth is advancing. In this work we present the development of a novel ultrasound bioreactor to study its influence on protein crystallization in agarose gel. Gel media minimize convention currents and sedimentation, favoring a more homogeneous and stable conditions to study the effect of an externally generated low energy ultrasonic irradiation on protein crystallization avoiding other undesired effects such as temperature increase, introduction of surfaces which induce nucleation, destructive cavitation phenomena, etc. In-depth statistical analysis of the results has shown that the impact of ultrasound in gel media on crystal size populations are statistically significant and reproducible.