Effect of shock wave on surface morphology and optical properties of acid phthalate based single crystals

Abstract

Recent literature reports mentioned that the effect of shock wave on single crystals and its effect on various physical and chemical properties. In the current article, the shock wave with constant Mach number 1.7 was generated by table top shock tube to study its effects on optical and surface morphology properties of Potassium Acid Phthalate (KAP) and Sodium Acid Phthalate (NaAP) single crystals respectively. Optically transparent semi-organic single crystals of KAP and NaAP were grown using slow evaporation solution technique (SEST). A systematic investigation was carried out to examine the influence of shock waves on acid phthalate based single crystals. The optical properties of harvested crystals were scrutinized using UV–Visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The surface morphology analysis was examined by optical microscope. On the interaction of shock wave, the transmittance for both the crystals increased for 1st shock wave and then decreased for its higher shock numbers. There were no major changes observed in optical band gap for pre and post shock wave loaded single crystals. The modification on the surface of single crystal, study of defects concentration and crystalline perfection of the virgin and shock wave loaded samples were confirmed by PL and surface morphology studies respectively.