We herein record the synthesis as well as the results of our investigations on the structure as well as properties - thermal, mechanical, surface and nonlinear optical (NLO) - of semiorganic bisglycine lithium perchlorate (BGLP) single crystals. BGLP single crystal with dimensions 14× 3 × 2 mm3 has been synthesized and its structure and lattice parameters have been identified with the aid of X-ray diffraction. The vibrational spectrum of BGLP has been investigated making use of FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra. Dielectric constant of BGLP is found to show variations with frequency as well as temperature, which remains constant at high frequencies, the causes of which have been discussed. BGLP is manifested to be thermally stable up to 256ºC as revealed from thermogravimetric analyses. The two-dimensional nucleation mechanism in the growth of BGLP crystals have been understood from chemical etching studies. The potential applications of BGLP in optical switching is evident from its third order NLO response seen in the Z-scan curves.
