Abstract

Growth of urea crystals by accelerated evaporation from solution and its characterization

Author(s): R.Thenmozhi, A.Claude

Urea and its derivatives is an excellentNLOmaterialwhich can be grown as crystals from solutions. There were many unfavourable conditions which imposes a limitation on the size of the grown crystal. Urea or carbamide with chemical formula CO (NH2)2where themolecule has two—NH2 groups joined by a carbonyl (C=O) functional group. Urea serves an important role in the metabolismof nitrogen-containing compounds by animals and is the main nitrogen-containing substance in the urine of mammals. It is solid, colourless, and odorless and highly soluble in water and non-toxic by nature. Dissolved in water, it is neither acidic nor alkaline. The synthesis of this organic compound by FriedrichWöhler in 1828 from an inorganic precursor was an important milestone in the development of organic chemistry, as it showed for the first time that a molecule found in living organisms could be synthesized in the lab without biological starting materials The terms urea and carbamide are also used for a class of chemical compounds sharing the same functional group RRÂ’N—CO—NRRÂ’, namely a carbonyl group attached to two organic amine residues. The constituents were taken in suitable containers and optimal growth conditions were designed. Urea crystallization wasmooted at roomtemperature.After a prescribed amount of time whiskers get developed into small stick shaped crystals. Urea is also crystallized using the same solution growth technique. The crystals are analysed for their surface structural, optical and spectroscopic properties.