Shock wave-induced defect engineering on structural and optical properties of crown ether magnesium chloride potassium thiocyanate single crystal

Abstract

In the present work, a successful attempt was made to synthesize 18-crown-6-ether magnesium chloride potassium tris-thiocyanate (CMPTC) which was grown as the single crystal with the dimensions of 12 × 2 × 1 mm3 by slow evaporation method. The prominent properties of CMPTC single crystal, namely crystallographic structure, surface morphology, and optical transmittance, were estimated using powder X-ray diffraction, optical microscope, and UV–Visible spectrometer, respectively. The effect of shock waves on CMPTC single crystal was explored by loading with specific shock pulses of 1, 2, and 3 having Mach number 1.7. The XRD studies reveal that diffraction peaks of the test crystal have undergone a lower angle shift with respect to number of shocks due to the reduction of crystalline nature. The optical transmittance study reveals that the sample loses the optical transmission significantly by the dynamic impact of shock waves due to the formation of surface defects and cracks which is also reflected in the optical microscopic images providing the supporting evidence for the changes occurring at shocked conditions. From the shock wave impact study, we conclude that the title compound of CMPTC is not suitable for the applications of electronic device fabrications intended to be working under high pressure and high temperature.