Studies on the physical properties of solution-grown pure and impurity-added triglycine formate single crystals

The growth of nonlinear optical crystals has emerged as a rapidly developing field. Inorganic, organic and semi-organic materials are attracting a great deal of attention in the field of nonlinear optics. In the present study, triglycine formate (TGF) crystals and magnesium chloride-added triglycine formate crystals were grown by the slow evaporation method. The elements present in the grown TGF crystals were identified by a CHNS analyser. The entry of metal ions into the TGF crystal was confirmed by an EDAX analyser. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies of the grown crystals showed the presence of all the expected functional groups, which were not altered due to the entry of the dopant. Power X-ray diffraction of all the grown crystals revealed that the monoclinic structure and lattice constant varied with increasing dopant concentration. Optical studies were carried out by utilizing UV-visible and photoluminescence spectra to determine the potential applications. The mechanical strength of these crystals was studied using Vickers microhardness tester, and the crystals were found to be soft materials. Electrical properties such as the dielectric constant and dielectric loss were determined as a function of frequency at different temperatures using an LCR meter. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the grown crystals decreased with increasing frequency and increasing temperature. All the grown crystals have good second harmonic generation efficiency and are better for nonlinear optical properties.