Growth, structure, crystalline perfection and characterization of Mg(II)-incorporated tris(thiourea)Zn(II) sulfate crystals: Enhanced second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency

Single crystals of Mg(II)-incorporated tris(thiourea)Zn(II) sulfate (MZTS) have been grown from aqueous solution at room temperature by slow evaporation solution growth technique. The incorporation of Mg(II)- into the crystalline lattice was well confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and by single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. The reduction in the intensities observed in powder X-ray diffraction patterns of doped specimen and slight shifts in vibrational frequencies in FT-IR indicate the lattice stress as a result of doping. Thermal studies reveal the purity of the material and no decomposition is observed up to the melting point. High transmittance is observed in the visible region and the band gap energy is estimated by Kubelka–Munk algorithm. Surface morphology of doped material was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Decreased crystalline perfection by doping observed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) analysis is justified by the crystal stress. Even a small quantity incorporation of Mg(II)- enhances the SHG efficiency significantly. The as-grown crystal is further characterized by microhardness and dielectric studies.

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► A small quantity incorporation of Mg(II)- enhances the SHG efficiency of ZTS.
► Crystal stress is observed.
► Structure of Mg(II)-incorporated ZTS is elucidated.
► Crystalline perfection is evaluated by HRXRD.