Journal of Advances in Applied Sciences and Technology (2014) Vol. 1|Issue 1|Page 14-16 Shaikh at el 14 UV-VISIBLE STUDY AND DETERMINATION OF OPTICAL CONSTANT OF L-ARGININE MAELATE CRYSTAL R.N. Shaikh 1 , Mohd Anis 1 , M.D. Shirsat 2 , S.S. Hussaini 1* 1 Crystal Growth Laboratory, Department of Physics, Milliya Arts, Science and Management Science, College, Beed-431122, Maharashtra, India. 2 Intelligent Materials Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad-431004, Maharashtra, India. Corresponding author: email id: shuakionline@yahoo.co.in , Mob. No. +91-9325710500 Abstract: In present investigation optical properties of L-arginine maelate crystal has been investigated. The high optical transparency of grown crystal was assessed using the Shimadzu UV-2450 spectrophotometer. The transmittance data has been used to evaluate the optical band gap of grown crystal. The optical band gap of grown crystal is found to be 3.71 eV. The imperative optical constants like refractive index and optical conductivity has also been evaluated in the visible region. Keywords: band gap, growth from solution, optical properties, UV-visible INTRODUCTION In past decade nonlinear optical (NLO) materials has been widely grown due to the vast scope of application sin the field of second harmonic generation (SHG) and optoelectronics applications [1]. Amino acids play important role in enhancing the optical and nonlinear properties of material due to the chiral symmetry [2]. Organic NLO crystals offer fast response time, low dielectric and high structural stability [2]. In present investigation an organic crystal L- arginine maelate has been grown and the optical properties were examined to explore the different optical applications. Synthesis Equimolar ratio of L-arginine and malic acid were dissolved in deionized water and allowed to stir at a constant speed for five hours to achieve the complete reaction. The prepared mixture was then filtered with the No. 1 whatman filter paper and kept for evaporation in a constant temperature bath of accuracy ±0.01 0 C. The transparent seed crystals were harvested within 10 days. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION UV-visible study The optical transparency of grown crystal has been analyzed using the Shimadzu UV-2450 spectrophotometer in the range 200 – 900 nm. The grown crystal has high optical transparency above 85% in entire visible region which is suitable for SHG transmission devices [3]. The lower cut-off wavelength of grown crystal is found to be at 300 nm. The lower cut-off wavelength of the materials is mainly attributed due to the nitrogen and hydrogen bond present in organic compound. The lower cut-off wavelength is highly demanded for electro-optic applications [4]. Fig.1. Transmittance spectrum