Structural and Mechanical Studies of Semi-Organic NLO Material: Zinc Thiourea Chloride

Growth of bulk zinc thiourea chloride (ZTC) single crystals from aqueous solution by low temperature solution growth technique has been reported. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the crystal structure. The crystalline quality was assessed by high resolution XRD technique. The thermal stability of the crystal was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The microhardness measurement has been carried out at room temperature for different forces using Vickers microhardness tester. From the Vickers microhardness, Meyer's index number (n) and minimum level of indentation load (w) of the crystal has been deliberated. The elastic stiffness coefficient C-11 was also calculated using Wooster's empirical relation from the hardness data. The grown crystal possesses good optical transmission in the entire visible region, which is an essential requirement for nonlinear optical crystals. The good optical transmittance in the visible region and second harmonic generation (SHG) conversion efficiency makes the crystal a potential material for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications.