Determination of Nucleation Kinetics and Crystal Perfection, Optical, Piezoelectric Properties of Semi-organic NLO Single Crystal-Sodium Acid Phthalate Hemihydrate

Abstract

Semi-organic nonlinear optical single crystals of sodium acid phthalate hemihydrate were grown using slow evaporation technique. Single crystal X-ray diffraction study shows grown crystal belongs to the orthorhombic system with space group B2ab. Nucleation kinetics and nucleation parameters such as critical radius, interfacial tension, and critical free energy change are evaluated using the experimental data. The solubility and the nucleation of the crystal at different temperatures have been analysed. Sodium acid phthalate hemihydrate has a positive temperature coefficient of solubility. The metastable zone width and induction period have been experimentally determined for the optimized crystal growth conditions. UV–Vis–NIR study showed the title compound has high transparency in UV–Vis–NIR region. The nonlinear optical property was measured using Kurtz Perry powder technique and SHG efficiency was 1.1 times that of KDP. The photoconductivity analysis shows that sodium acid phthalate hemihydrate has positive photoconductivity nature. The chemical etching analysis was executed to assess the quality of the crystal. The piezoelectric coefficient d33 is higher than that of several other semi-organic single crystals. The SHG efficiency of the grown crystal is higher than that of several other semi-organic crystals.