Growth, spectral and thermal characterization of vanillin semicarbazone (VNSC) single crystals

Vanillin semicarbazone (VNSC) has been synthesized from 4-hydroxy 3-methoxy benzaldehyde and semicarbazide hydrochloride using sodium acetate as catalyst. Good quality single crystals of VNSC were successfully grown by slow evaporation method at room temperature using DMF as solvent. The grown crystals have been characterized using melting point, elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV–Visible, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, and X-Ray diffraction analysis. The compound crystallizes into an orthorhombic Pca21 space group. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions facilitate unit cell packing in the crystal lattice. The UV–Visible spectrum confirmed the transparency of the compound between the wavelengths 420 and 1,200 nm, which is characteristic to property of an NLO material. The thermal decomposition of the compound under static air atmosphere was investigated by simultaneous TG/DTG at a heating rate of 10 °C/min.