Importance of hydrogen bonding for second harmonic generation effect: X-ray diffraction and DFT study on S-benzyl isothiouronium chloride

X-ray diffraction study of the nonlinear optical (NLO) material S-benzyl isothiouronium chloride (C8H11N2SCl) (SBTC) is reported for the first time. The single crystal of SBTC is orthorhombic with space group Pbca. SBTC exhibits second-order NLO susceptibility, and this study shows that hydrogen bonding is, in part, responsible for this. The present work shows that C–H⋯Cl and N–H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds direct the nature of the three-dimensional lattice. Such intermolecular interactions help to extend the molecular charge transfer into the supramolecular realm, the charge transfer originating as a consequence of the high level of molecular planarity and strong donor-to-acceptor interactions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation and atom-in-molecule (AIM) analysis has been carried out to study the nature of hydrogen involved in the SBTC complex.