Synthesis, growth, structural characterization, Hirshfeld analysis and nonlinear optical studies of a methyl substituted chalcone

A new chalcone compound (2E)-3-(3-methylphenyl)-1-(4-nitrophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (3MPNP) with molecular formula C₁₆H₁₃NO₃ has been synthesized and crystallized by slow solvent evaporation technique. The Fourier transform infrared, Fourier transform Raman and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques were used for structural characterization. UV–visible absorption studies were carried out to study the transparency of the crystal in the visible region. Differential scanning calorimetry study shows thermal stability of crystals up to temperature 122 °C. Single crystal X-ray diffraction and powder X-ray diffraction techniques were used to study crystal structure and cell parameters. The Hirshfeld surface and 2-D fingerprint analysis were performed to study the nature of interactions and their quantitative contributions towards the crystal packing. The third order non-linear optical properties have been studied using single beam Z-scan technique and the results show that the material is a potential candidate for optical device applications such as optical limiters and optical switches.