Growth, physiochemical and NLO properties study of novel L-alanine tri-sodium citrate single crystal

Abstract

A single crystal of nonlinear optical (NLO) of L-Alanine Trisodium Citrate (LATSC), an optically transparent crystal with a dimension 38×27×7mm³,was grown by way of solvent evaporation technique. Through the result of crystal diffraction, it is confirmed that LATSC fit into the noncentrosymetric orthorhombic space group crystal system. The W-H method was used to find the crystallographic distortion, crystalline size and strain using the powder diffraction results. The FTIR study proves the presence of necessary functional groups through their respective diverse modes of vibrations. The melting point of 265.9°C was noticed from thermal studies. The second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of LATSC is half of the reference KDP. The optical absorption study and associated optical parameters of the crystal were calculated using UV visible spectroscopy. The extended transparency for the incident light and the direct band gap of 4.23 eV along with the optical susceptibility of 3.519 were perceived. The hardness test revealed the considerable mechanical strength, moderate stiffness constant and yield strength of the crystal.