Growth and characterization of l-histidine cadmium chloride monohydrate a semiorganic nonlinear optical crystals

l-histidine cadmium chloride monohydrate (LHCCM), a semiorganic nonlinear optical material was grown from aqueous solution by slow solvent evaporation method at room temperature. The LHCCM crystals were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction analysis. The presence of functional groups was identified through fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis confirms that the crystal is stable up to 277 °C. The dielectric constant was studied as a function of frequency for various temperatures. The mechanical properties of the grown crystals have been studied using Vickers microhardness tester. The second harmonic generation behavior of LHCCM crystal was tested by modified Kurtz–Perry powder technique.