Growth and characterization of gel grown single crystals of bis-glycine hydrogen chloride (BGHC)

Single crystals of bis-glycine hydrogen chloride, a semiorganic nonlinear optical material (NLO) were grown by silica gel method. Good optical quality single crystals with dimensions up to 15 × 3 × 4 mm3 were obtained. The grown crystals were characterized by single crystal XRD, FTIR and optical transmission spectrum. The second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of gel grown BGHC was found to be five times that of KDP. The thermal studies indicate that the gel grown BGHC is stable up to 188.5 °C. The dielectric response of the crystal with varying frequencies was studied. The photoconductivity studies confirmed the negative photoconductive nature of gel grown BGHC crystal.