Nucleation kinetics, growth, crystalline perfection, mechanical, thermal, optical and electrical characterization of brucinium 2-carboxy-6-nitrophthalate dihydrate single crystal

• Metastable zone width, critical radius of the nuclei and interfacial tension have been determined.
• The laser damage threshold of B2C6ND is found to be 2.8 GW/cm2.
• The UV–Vis spectrum showed good transparency in the visible region.
• The grown crystals are found to have good mechanical properties.
• Low value of Urbach energy (0.35 eV) indicates the minimum structural defect in the grown crystal.

Single crystals of brucinium 2-carboxy-6-nitrophthalate dihydrate (B2C6ND) have been grown by the slow evaporation solution technique at room temperature using water–ethanol (1:1) mixed solvent. The metastable zone width and induction period have been experimentally determined for the growth conditions. Nucleation kinetics and fundamental growth parameters such as surface free energy, critical radius and critical free energy change are also evaluated according to the experimental data. The crystal system and the lattice parameters have been confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystalline perfection of the grown B2C6ND crystals has been characterized by HRXRD method. Optical band gap and Urbach tail width of the sample have been studied employing UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy. The Vickers microhardness number (Hv), yield strength (σv) and stiffness constant (C11) of the grown crystal have been evaluated. The dielectric permittivity and dielectric loss of the grown B2C6ND crystal have been investigated as a function of frequency in the temperature range 313–353 K. The laser damage threshold value of B2C6ND crystal was estimated to be 2.8 GW/cm2 using a Nd:YAG laser.