Synthesis and characterization of semiorganic sodium hydrogen maleate trihydrate (SHMT) single crystal: A third-order nonlinear optical material

•The intermolecular interaction of the grown crystal is studied by Fourier Transform Infrared and Raman spectroscopy.•The lower dielectric values emphasis the high optical quality of the grown crystal.•The theoretical calculations for polarizability and optical constants were carried out.•The third-order nonlinear optical parameters were measured for the first time.•The negative nonlinear refractive index shows the self-defocusing nature of SHMT.

Single crystals of semiorganic sodium hydrogen maleate trihydrate (SHMT) were effectively grown from deionized water by solvent evaporation technique. The grown crystals were subjected to single crystal X-ray diffraction to know the precise information about the crystallographic structure. The SHMT crystal belongs to triclinic system with centrosymmetric space group of P-1. TGA/DTA analysis indicates that the grown crystal was thermally stable up to 249.6 °C. The UV–Visible spectrum revealed its high transparency nature and the cut off wavelength was found to be at 290 nm. Its mechanical behavior was assessed by Vickers microhardness measurements. Dielectric measurements were made over a wide range of frequency (50 Hz–1 MHz) at room temperature. Theoretical calculations for polarizability and optical constants were made which are necessary for device fabrication. The third-order nonlinear optical parameters were derived by Z-scan technique. The third-order nonlinear refractive index, absorption coefficient and susceptibility values were found to be −5.04112 × 10−11 cm2/W, 1.08717 × 10−3 cm/W and 6.35585 × 10−7 esu respectively.

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