Structural, optical, thermal and mechanical properties of Urea tartaric acid single crystals

•Urea tartaric acid crystal has been grown by slow evaporation technique.•Optical band gap of UT was estimated using UV–Vis–NIR spectral data.•SHG efficiency of UT was found to be 3.2 times that of KDP and close to Urea.•Birefringence values of UT were measured as a function of wavelength.•Laser damage threshold value of UT was determined using Nd:YAG laser.

Urea tartaric acid (UT) an organic nonlinear optical (NLO) material was synthesized from aqueous solution and the crystals were grown by the slow evaporation technique. The single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the UT crystal belongs to the orthorhombic system. The functional groups of UT have been identified by the Fourier transform infrared spectral studies. The optical transparent window in the visible and near the IR regions was investigated. The transmittance of UT has been used to calculate the refractive index (n) as a function of the wavelength. The nonlinear optical property of the grown crystal has been confirmed by the Kurtz powder second harmonic generation test. The birefringence of the crystal was determined using a tungsten halogen lamp source. The laser induced surface damage threshold for the grown crystal was measured using the Nd:YAG laser. The anisotropic in mechanical property of the grown crystals was studied using Vicker’s microhardness tester at different planes. The etch pit density of UT crystals was investigated. The thermal behavior of UT was investigated using the TG–DTA and DSC studies.

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