Unique optical properties of Eu³⁺ doped l-histidine hydrochloride mono hydrate single crystals from low temperature...

A low-temperature solution method was utilized to grow single crystals of Eu³⁺doped l-histidine hydrochloride monohydrate. The quality of the crystals was confirmed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction measurements with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of rocking curve at 8arc per sec. The incorporation of Eu³⁺ ions into the lattice was confirmed by functional group analysis using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The amount of Eu³⁺ ions was found to be 0.08 weight (%) using energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The crystal's thermal and mechanical properties were tested as well. The unique spectral properties such as UV-Vis transmittance, nonlinear optical efficiency (NLO), photoluminescence (PL) and its lifetime were measured. The PL study revealed that the intensity of ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ emission of Eu³⁺ is stronger than that of ⁵D₀→⁷F₁ emission and the decay measurement showed a life time of 7.2410μs. The photoluminescence results prove that l-histidine hydrochloride monohydrate is a new, highly efficient host material for europium ion red emissions.