Crystalline perfection, thermal, mechanical and optical investigations on solution grown l-arginine monohydrochloride single crystal

In the present work we report crystallization and detailed analyses on l-arginine monohydrochloride single crystal an efficient material for nonlinear optical applications. The crystal of titled material was grown using slow evaporation solution growth technique using double distilled water as solvent. Single crystal X-ray diffraction technique revealed that lattice dimensions of grown crystal are in good agreement with the reported literature and it crystallised in monoclinic crystal system. High resolution X-ray diffraction study revealed that crystalline perfection is fairly good. Optical homogeneity and variation of birefringence across the sample cross-section was studied using birefringence interferometer. Specific heat and thermal conductivity of grown crystal was measured using photopyroelectric technique and was found to be higher than many organic and inorganic crystals. Its various mechanical properties and resistance toward deformation was examined using nano-indentation technique. Further laser damage threshold value and phase matching angle was also measured.