Study on growth, spectral, optical and thermal characterization of an NLO crystal: 6-Methyl nicotinic acid (6MNA)

6-methyl-nictinic acid (6MNA), organic non linear optical (NLO) single crystals were grown by slow evaporation solution technique. The cell parameters of 6MNA were confirmed from single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The Fourier transforms infrared and proton Nuclear magnetic resonance spectral analysis confirm the presence of various functional groups and the placement of protons respectively in 6MNA compound. UV-vis-NIR spectral studies revealed that the grown 6MNA has good optical transmission in the range of entire visible region. The thermal properties of crystals were evaluated from thermogravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). It has shown that the grown crystals were stable up to 213 degrees C. The second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements indicated that the efficiency of 6MNA is two times greater than that of the KDP crystals and is suitable for frequency conversion applications.