Synthesis, growth, structure, mechanical and optical properties of a new semi-organic 2-methyl imidazolium dihydrogen phosphate single crystal

• 2MIDP crystals were grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique.
• Single crystal XRD revealed self-assembled supramolecular framework.
• Z scan technique is employed for third order nonlinear optical susceptibility.
• Structure-property correlation is established.

A new semi-organic compound, 2-methyl imidazolium dihydrogen phosphate (2MIDP), was prepared and good quality single crystals of 2MIDP were grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique. Crystal structure elucidated using Single crystal XRD showed that 2MIDP crystallizes in monoclinic system with P21/c space group. FT-IR, UV-Vis-NIR, Fluorescence and FT-NMR spectra confirm the molecular structure of 2MIDP. The UV-Vis-NIR spectra established the suitability of the compound for NLO applications. TG-DSC showed that 2MIDP is thermally stable up to 200 °C. Mechanical characteristics like hardness number (Hv), stiffness constant (C11), yield strength (σv), fracture toughness (Kc) and brittleness index (Bi) were assessed using Vicker’s microhardness tester. Third order nonlinear optical properties determined from Z-scan measurement using femto and picosecond lasers showed two photon reverse saturable absorption. The enhancement of nonlinear optical properties in femto second laser, revealed the suitability of 2MIDP for optical limiting applications.

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