Contemporary studies on growth and characterization of Magnesium doped γ-glycine – A potential optoelectronic NLO material

Abstract

The optical quality magnesium doped γ-glycine single crystal has been grown by slow evaporation method. The grown crystal was identified as P31 space group based on single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The obtained unit cell dimensions a = 7.05 Å, b =7.05 Å, c =5.51Å and α = β = 90o and γ =120o showed that the crystal is hexagonal. The transmittance of the crystal is measured and the UV cut off wavelength was found to be 340 nm and band gap of the crystal is found to be 3.5hν. The various functional groups associated with the grown single crystal have been characterized by FT-IR studies, measured in the range from 450-4000 cm−1. The hardness number and Mayer index value calculated using Microhardness studies established the good mechanical strength of the grown crystal. Simple harmonic generation studies showed that the crystal is having NLO nature. To get the knowledge of crystal surface morphology, SEM studies were carried out. The decomposition temperature of the crystal was identified using TG-DSC studies which indicated that the crystal is thermally stable up to 492.5°C. The laser damage threshold (LDT) studies also supported the suitability of the crystal towards non linear optical applications. Etching studies indicated the minimal dislocations in the crystal growth mechanism. The present study clearly shows that the grown crystal is having potential applications in NLO-optoelectronic devices.