Physiochemical properties of Lithium salicylate (LiSal) single crystal by solution growth technique for scintillation applications

Lithium salicylate (LiSal) organic scintillation single crystal was grown by solution growth technique. The grown crystal found to crystallize in triclinic crystal system. FTIR spectroscopy analysis elucidates the existence of functional groups present in LiSal crystal. The absorption wavelength of title compound exhibits sharp peak at 358 nm due to π to π* electronic transition and energy gap was estimated using Tauc’s plot. The photoluminescence spectra were recorded and found the emission around 409 nm. The refractive index of the sample was determined using abbe refractometer. The mechanical properties of grown sample have been elucidates using Vickers microhardness tester. The Meyers index reveals that the grown crystal belongs to soft material category. The melting point and thermal properties of sample was examined using TG/DTA analysis. The fluorescence lifetime analysis of LiSal crystal exhibits short fluorescence decay time of 0.76 ns for prompt and 1.44 ns for delayed component. LiSal crystal exhibits 2-component (prompt and delayed) fast fluorescence decay time, hence depicting the feasibility in device applications. The preliminary results revealed that the present studied organic crystal lithium salicylate scintillator could be potential candidate in the field of fast neutron detection application.