Growth and Characterization of Single Crystals of l-Histidine Hydrochloride Monohydrate for Nonlinear Optical Applications

In the present study, we have focused on the growth of semi-organic single crystals, as they play a vital role in the generation of a terahertz pulse and its potential applications. The single crystals of l -histidine hydrochloride monohydrate (LMHCL) were grown by slow evaporation solution growth by using deionized water as a solvent in a controlled atmosphere. Good quality crystals of the required size were obtained within 2 weeks. To estimate the lattice dimensions and get the structural information, powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD) study was performed in which we have found that the crystal belongs to the orthorhombic crystal system with space group P 2 1 2 1 2 1 . The functional groups and the corresponding vibrational mode were confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. To study the optical properties UV–Vis transmission spectrum and photoluminescence (PL) were recorded. It was observed that the single crystal has a high value of transmission over a long range of wavelength which signifies that the crystal is a good candidate for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications. The UV cut-off wavelength is found to be 236 nm. The grown single crystals were studied by time-domain terahertz spectroscopy (THz-TDS) for photonic applications and the refractive indices were calculated and it is found that the refractive index is nearly equal to 3.4.