Search

Polar molecular crystals, with their densely stacked polar nonlinear optical (NLO) active units, are favored for their large second harmonic generation (SHG) responses and birefringence. However, their potential for practical applications as Infrared (IR) NLO materials has historically been underappreciated due to the weak inter-molecular interaction forces that may compromise their physicochemical properties. In this study, we propose molecular crystals with polar molecular cages as a treasure-house for the development of superior IR NLO materials and a representative system, binary chalcogenide molecular crystals, composed of [P 4 S n ] (n=3-9) polar molecular cages, is introduced. These crystals may not only achieve wide band gap, large SHG response, and birefringence in a single structure, but also exhibit favorable physicochemical properties. We subsequently obtained a polar molecular crystal, α-P 4 S 5 , which demonstrated exceptional IR optical properties, including a strong SHG response (1.1×AGS), wide band gap (3.02 eV), large birefringence (0.134@2050 nm), and a broad transmission range (0.41-14.7 μm). Moreover, it showed excellent water resistance and hardness. These findings highlight the potential of polar molecular crystals as a promising platform for the development of high-performance IR NLO materials., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Acquiring high-performance ultraviolet (UV) nonlinear optical (NLO) materials that simultaneously exhibit a strong second harmonic generation (SHG) coefficients, as short as possible SHG phase-matching (PM) wavelength and non-hygroscopic properties has consistently posed a significant challenge. Herein, through multicomponent modification of KBe 2 BO 3 F 2 (KBBF), an excellent UV NLO crystal, Mg(C 3 O 4 H 2 )(H 2 O) 2 , was successfully synthesized in malonic system. This material possesses a unique 2D NLO-favorable electroneutral [Mg(C 3 O 4 H 2 ) 3 (H 2 O) 2 ] ∞ layer, resulting in the rare coexistence of a strong SHG response of 3×KDP (@1064 nm) and short PM wavelength of 200 nm. More importantly, it exhibits exceptional water resistance, which is rare among ionic organic NLO crystals. Theoretical calculations revealed that its excellent water-resistant may be originated from its small available cavity volumes, which is similar to the famous LiB 3 O 5 (LBO). Therefore, excellent NLO properties and stability against air and moisture indicate it should be a promising UV NLO crystal., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Ionic organic crystals containing organic planar π-conjugated units has become one of the hot spots as nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. However, although this type of ionic organic NLO crystals commonly have remarkable second harmonic generation (SHG) responses, they also suffer from overlarge birefringences and relatively small band gaps that be hardly beyond 6.2 eV. Herein, a flexible π-conjugated [C 3 H(CH 3 )O 4 ] 2- unit was theoretically revealed, showing great potential for designing NLO crystals with balanced optical properties. Accordingly, through the reasonable NLO-favourable layered design, a new ionic organic material, NH 4 [LiC 3 H(CH 3 )O 4 ], was successfully obtained. As expected, it achieves not only a large SHG effect (4×KDP), but also a suitable birefringence (0.06@546 nm) and an ultrawide band gap (>6.5 eV). This study provides a new flexible π-conjugated NLO-active unit, contributing to design more ionic organic NLO materials with excellent balanced optical properties., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

We herein report two asymmetric germanate crystals, KNbGe 3 O 9 and K 3 Nb 3 Ge 2 O 13 , with different structures and optical properties derived from divergent polymerized forms of GeO 4 and NbO 6 groups. Remarkably, K 3 Nb 3 Ge 2 O 13 achieved a rare combination of the strongest second harmonic generation (SHG) response of 17.5×KDP @ 1064 nm and the largest birefringence of 0.196 @ 546 nm in germanates. It features unique [Nb 3 O 12 ] ∞ tubular chains constructed by circular Nb 3 O 15 tripolymers. Theoretical calculations reveal that the d-p interactions in the Nb 3 O 15 group are responsible for outstanding optical properties. This work emphasizes the significance of the polymerizable functional units in obtaining high-performance nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

For the first time, the polar covalent tetrahedron [SO 2 (NH 2 ) 2 ] is revealed as a new deep-ultraviolet (DUV) nonlinear optical (NLO)-active unit according to theoretical calculations. Furthermore, sulfamide consisting of polar [SO 2 (NH 2 ) 2 ] units was confirmed as an excellent candidate as a DUV NLO crystal. Sulfamide provides the optimal balance between composition, structure, and properties, in addition to a very short absorption of 160 nm. It achieves multiple optical performance records for non-π-conjugated DUV NLO materials, including the strongest second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency (about 4 times that of KDP), the largest birefringence (obv.: 0.07@589.3 nm) and the shortest SHG wavelength predicted as 188 nm., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)