Structural, optical, mechanical and dielectric studies of pure and doped L-Prolinium Trichloroacetate single crystals

•Pure and metal ions doped LPTCA single crystals were grown by slow evaporation solution method.•Co2+ doped crystal exhibit higher hardness than pure and Ni2+ doped LPTCA crystals.•Ni2+ doped LPTCA crystal possesses high dielectric constant compared to pure and Co2+ doped LPTCA crystals.

In the present work, pure and metal substituted L-Prolinium trichloroacetate (LPTCA) single crystals were grown by slow evaporation method. The grown crystals were subjected to single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), powder X-ray diffraction, FTIR, UV–Visible–NIR, hardness, photoluminescence and dielectric studies. The dopant concentration in the crystals was measured by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of the pure and metal substituted LPTCA revealed that the grown crystals belong to the trigonal system. Ni2+ and Co2+ doping slightly altered the lattice parameters of LPTCA without affecting the basic structure of the crystal. FTIR spectral analysis confirms the presence of various functional groups in the grown crystals. The mechanical behavior of pure and doped crystals was analyzed by Vickers’s microhardness test. The optical transmittance, dielectric and photoluminescence properties of the pure and doped crystals were analyzed.

Graphical abstractSingle crystals of (a) pure LPTCA (b) Ni2+ doped LPTCA (c) Co2+ doped LPTCA.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide