Comprehensive analysis of organic dye doped metal-coordinated single crystals: A study of structural, optical, thermal, dielectric, piezoelectric and mechanical characteristics

Abstract

Organic dye can induce positive changes in optical, mechanical and electrical properties of semi-organic single crystals. Single crystals of pure and 0.01 mol% SSY dye doped ZTS are grown from a slow evaporation solution technique. The structural properties of pure and SSY-dyed ZTS crystals are characterized using SCXRD and PXRD, confirming the maintenance of crystallinity and incorporation of dye molecules within the host lattice of ZTS crystal. Both ZTS crystals belong to orthorhombic crystal system with space group Pca21. The refined lattice parameters and cell volume of present pure ZTS crystal are a = 11.1723 Å, b = 7.7989 Å, c = 15.5357 Å, α = β = γ = 90°, V = 1353.6762 Å3. The intensity of all Raman peaks in ZTS is enhanced by the incorporation of dye. Optical spectroscopic UV–visible and photoluminescence techniques highlight the comparative studies of light absorption, energy bandgap, optical constants and fluorescence emission. An increment of 0.05 eV in optical bandgap is observed in dyed ZTS. The dielectric properties with variation in frequency range (23 Hz–10 MHz) at different temperature range (30–100 °C) are evaluated through impedance spectroscopy, showing an increase in dielectric constant around 15 % and reduction in dielectric loss, indicating potential for improved performance in electronic applications. A significant enhancement is observed in the piezoelectric coefficient (d33) in dyed ZTS single crystals. The d33 value of ZTS is increased from 2.75 to 2.95 pC/N by the doping of organic dye. Vickers micro-hardness tester is used to know the mechanical strength through micro-indentation, which illustrated an increase in the hardness nature of dyed ZTS single crystals. These findings provide a foundation for the future development of ZTS-based materials for technological applications, offering a promising route for the advancement of functional materials in the domain of piezoelectric and optoelectronic technologies.