Irigenin – an isoflavone: a brief study on structural and optical properties

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar 190006, J&K, India
² University Science Instrumentation Centre (USIC), University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar 190006, J&K, India
³ Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Hazratbal, Srinagar 190006, J&K, India

^a e-mail: famirnit@gmail.com

Received: 30 January 2013
Revised: 11 April 2013
Accepted: 12 April 2013
Published online: 18 June 2013

Abstract

Irigenin, an isoflavone (mol. formula = C₁₈H₁₆O₈), was isolated from the plant Iris hookeriana using dichloromethane as solvent. The compound was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-visible spectroscopy measurements. Structural analysis of XRD data confirmed the orthorhombic structure for the compound. The microstructure of the compound is an aggregate of microcrystals with an irregular morphology. From the UV-visible spectroscopy, the present compound shows indirect allowed transition with an optical band gap (E_g) of around 3.25 eV. The present optical properties of the compound can be utilized in flexible organic electronics applications.