Investigation on the optical, electronic, mechanical and thermal parameters of guanidinium p-toluenesulfonate single crystal for opto-electronic applications

Abstract

Organic single crystals of guanidinium p-toluenesulfonate were synthesized and grown embracing slow evaporation solution growth technique. The grown crystal was subdued to single crystal X-ray diffraction study and powder X-ray diffraction study for the computation of cell parameters, space group and morphology for its structural confirmation. The various functional groups present in the crystalline material were determined by utilizing Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectral analysis. The optical transmittance study was exploited for the evaluation of absorption coefficient, refractive index and extinction coefficient. Appropriate physical parameters towards the estimation of plasma energy (19.628 eV), Penn gap (6.054), Fermi energy (15.604) and electronic polarizability from Penn analysis (5.00 × 10−23 cm3) and Clausius–Mossotti equation (5.446 × 10−23 cm3) were theoretically calculated. The values obtained from Penn analysis and Clausius–Mossotti equation are compatible with each other. The measured Vickers hardness values (at various loads) are reported to understand the mechanical properties of the crystal. We have also reported the values of indentation depth with respect to their indenter loads. The thermal results obtained from thermogravimetric-differential thermal analyses (TG-DTA) were utilized for the calculation of kinetic parameters such as effective activation energy, Arrhenius constant, enthalpy of activation, entropy of activation and Gibb's energy.