Experimental and density functional theory (DFT): A dual approach to study the various important properties of monohydrated L-proline cadmium chloride for nonlinear optical applications

In the current work we have applied the experimental and quantum chemical techniques to study the electro-optical and nonlinear optical properties of L-proline cadmium chloride monohydrate (LPCCM). Synthesis and good quality single crystals of LPCCM were grown (size = 20 mm x 12 mm x 10 mm). Crystal structure was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction study. The calculated FT-IR and FT-Raman frequencies were analyzed. Detailed optical studies were carried out and various optical parameters are calculated. Using density functional theory, molecular geometry of LPCCM was optimized within framework of B3LYP/6-31G*. The calculated HOMO-LUMO energy gap of 5.484 eV and transition energy of 5.565 eV has been found in semi-quantitative agreement with experimental results. The value of dipole moment and first hyperpolarizability of LPCCM are found to be 2 and 6 times respectively, higher than that of urea. The obtained results reveal that the titled compound is a good candidate for nonlinear applications having an excellent transparency trade-off value. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.