Abstract: | L‐histidine tetrafluoroborate (L‐HFB) a semiorganic nonlinear optical material has been synthesized in aqueous solution at 50°C and characterized by FT‐IR and FT‐Raman spectroscopy studies. The solubility was determined in different solvents such as water, methanol and water mixture of methanol. The single crystals with dimensions 15x12x3 mm3 were grown by slow evaporation method within four weeks with approximate growth rate of 0.25 mm/day. The grown crystals have been subjected to single crystal X‐ray diffraction studies to determine the unit cell dimensions and morphology. The Kurtz powder second harmonic generation test shows that the compound is a potential candidate for frequency conversion. The refractive index has been measured using He‐Ne laser. The microhardness test was carried out and the load dependence hardness was observed. The material has a wide transparency in the entire visible region. (© 2003 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) |