Spectral and Thermal Studies of Gel Grown Benzophenone Crystal

Benzophenone has significant relevance in non linear optical applications. Benzophenone crystals had already been grown by several methods. In this work, single crystals of benzophenone were successfully grown by gel method. The single crystal X ray diffraction technique was carried out to obtain the crystallographic data from which valence electron plasma energy and Fermi energy was also calculated. The grown crystal was subjected to FTIR spectral analysis to confirm the presence of functional groups. The optical band gap of the crystal was determined from the UV Visible NIR absorbance spectrum and found to be 3.18 eV. The electronic polarisability of the grown crystal was calculated from the band gap. The nature of the spectrum shows its potential as an NLO material. Thermal properties and thermal stability were studied by conducting Thermo-gravimetric and Differential Thermal Analysis. Here the melting point was observed as 49.5 degree Celsius which is well matching with the theoretical value. It is also thermally stable up to 150 degree Celsius. Keywords—Benzophenone, gel growth, Single crystal Xray diffraction, FTIR, UV-Vis-NIR spectral analysis, Thermal analysis