Single crystal growth, structural, optical, mechanical, dielectric and thermal studies of l-alanine doped potassium thiocyanate crystal for NLO applications

Optically transparent l -alanine doped potassium thiocyanate crystal of dimension 7 × 3 × 3 mm 3 was grown by the slow evaporation solution technique. To confirm the cell parameters and the peak shifts of the reflecting planes, X-ray diffraction technique was used. The amalgamation of potassium thiocyanate in l -alanine has been qualitatively examined by Fourier transform infrared investigation. The UV – Visible absorption spectrum of samples was recorded in the range from 200 nm to 1,000 nm. The doped potassium thiocyanate crystal was found to have an enhanced optical framework compared to pure l -alanine with a cutoff wavelength of 238 nm and the Urbach energy was also calculated. The mechanical behaviour l -alanine potassium thiocyanate crystal was investigated using a Vicker’s micro-hardness analyser and hardness parameters were estimated. The thermal stability of the grown crystal as revealed by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis was found to be 269 °C. The dielectric behaviour of the sample was studied, along with second harmonic generation efficiency measurement through the powder Kurtz method.