Enhanced physical properties of potassium zinc sulphate hydrate single crystal following iodide doping

• Published in: Materials research express 2018-06, Vol.5 (6), p.66207
• Main Authors: Abu El-Fadl, A, Santos, Isabel Cordeiro, Paulo, António, Nashaat, A M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Iodide doping; KZSH single crystal; optical energy gap; Second harmonic generation; thermal analysis; x-ray fluorescence; x-ray powder diffraction
• ISSN: 2053-1591; 2053-1591
• DOI: 10.1088/2053-1591/aacdcf

The crystal grown from mixing potassium iodide and zinc sulphate in an aqueous solution was found to be a single crystal potassium zinc sulphate hydrate. The iodide ions enter the crystal matrix as a dopant with small ratio. The evaluation of the crystal structure was achieved by single crystal diffraction and the resolved structure was monoclinic with space group P21/c. The effect of iodide doping is observed in the crystal morphology and the x-ray powder diffraction pattern. The iodide ions were detected in the grown crystal using x-ray fluorescence and energy dispersive x-ray which spotted a very small fraction of iodide in the raw materials of the crystal. The iodide doping also affected the thermal stability of the original crystal and introduced different thermal behavior. The optical properties are also affected and a noticeable band in the transmittance is observed. The iodide effect on the structure of optical energy gap is analyzed using photoluminescence spectra. Second harmonic generation test shows an unexpected behavior based on the structure of the grown crystal.