Effect of pH on the growth, crystalline perfection, nonlinear optical and mechanical properties of tris-glycine zinc chloride single crystals

Bulk single crystals of tris-glycine zinc chloride (TGZC) have been grown from aqueous solutions at three different pH values. The influence of pH on the morphology, structure, optical and mechanical properties has been investigated. The single crystal X-ray diffraction was used to analyze the influence on the lattice parameters of the grown crystals. The growth morphology obtained at three pH values was analyzed to infer about the growth rate of the different crystallography habit faces. The optical quality was assessed by recording UV-vis transmission spectrum, birefringence interferometry and laser damage threshold studies. The hardness of the grown crystals was compared by Vickers hardness measurements. It is found that TGZC crystals grown at pH 3 results in better optical and mechanical properties.