Structural, thermal and electrical characterization on gel grown copper succinate dihydrate single crystals

Abstract

Copper succinate dihydrate (CuC4H4O4·2H2O) crystals were grown by controlled diffusion in silica gel medium and long thin plate-like single crystals of length up to 5 mm were obtained. The single-crystal x-ray diffraction studies showed that it crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1(2), with a = 6.419, b = 7.622, c = 8.076 Å, α = 76.25°, β = 73.61° and γ = 81.30°. Raman and infrared spectra of the grown crystals were recorded in the 50–3500 and 400–4000 cm−1 frequency regions, respectively. The different vibrational modes of the title compound were assigned and discussed. The optical band gap of the material was determined by UV–visible spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the grown crystal was studied by thermogravimetric–differential thermogravimetric and differential thermal calorimetric analysis. Surface feature studies on the grown crystals were carried out by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The electrical characterization on the grown crystals was also done and the variations of dielectric constant and ac conductivity with frequency of the applied field were discussed.