Synthesis, growth, and characterization of novel nonlinear optical active dichloridodiglycine zinc dihydrate single crystals

The nonlinear optical photonic crystal of dichloridodiglycine zinc dihydrate was grown from a mixture of glycine and zinc chloride by a slow evaporation technique. The morphology and the structure of the grown crystal were characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystalline perfection of the grown crystal was analyzed using high-resolution X-ray diffractometry rocking curve analysis. Fourier transform infrared spectral analyses confirmed the presence of the functional groups in the crystal lattice. The second harmonic efficiency of the crystal was tested by the Kurtz powder technique. The optical property and thermal stability of the grown crystal were studied using UV absorption spectral and thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis. Microhardness studies revealed that the hardness of the grown crystal increases with an increase in load. The presence of the elemental composition such as zinc and chlorine present in the title compound was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis.