Spectral, optical and mechanical studies on l-histidine hydrochloride monohydrate (LHC) single crystals grown by unidirectional growth technique

Single crystals of nonlinear optical l-histidine hydrochloride monohydrate (LHC) were grown in an aqueous solution by the unidirectional crystal growth method within a period of 45 days along (1 0 1) plane. The grown crystals were subjected to single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis to confirm their orthorhombic structure having space group P212121. Values of several physical parameters were determined for the grown crystal. Optical transmission studies revealed very low absorption and band gap energy was calculated for the LHC crystals. Further, some optical constant were also determined for the grown crystals. Anisotropy in Vicker's microhardness led to the assessment of fracture toughness, brittleness index and yield strength for the synthesized crystals. Nonlinear optical studies were carried out for the grown crystal and second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency was found to be three times that of KDP crystals.