Crystal growth and characterizations of l-cystine dihydrobromide—A semiorganic nonlinear optical material

Single crystal of a new semiorganic nonlinear optical material, l-cystine dihydrobromide, was grown successfully from aqueous solution by slow evaporation method. The grown crystals were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction technique to determine the cell parameters. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis also confirms the structure of the grown title compound. The functional groups and vibrational frequencies have been identified using FTIR and FT Raman spectral data. Transmittance of the title compound was analyzed using UV–Vis spectrum. The mechanical strength of the grown crystal was found using Vickers microhardness measurement. The thermal stability of the grown crystal was determined with the aid of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Second order nonlinear optical behavior of the grown crystal has been confirmed by Kurtz powder second harmonic generation (SHG) test and its SHG efficiency was found as deff=0.38deff (KDP).