L-arginine fluoride (LAF) is one of the potential semi-organic materials for nonlinear optical applications. In the present study, synthesis, material purification and crystal growth of LAE have been carried out. Since the material has high solubility in water, the growth parameters have been optimized for the growth of good-quality crystals. X-ray powder diffraction studies have been carried out in order to calculate the lattice parameter values using its monoclinic crystallographic equation. From Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis, different modes of vibration due to various functional groups present in LAE have been observed. In order to find the range and percentage of optical transmission, the UV-VIS spectrum was recorded for the crystal. The thermal behaviour of the LAE sample has been investigated from differential thermal and thermogravimetric analyses. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.