A highly birefringent metal-free crystal assembled by cooperative non-covalent interactions.

Birefringent crystals can manipulate the phase and polarization of light, so they are widely used as essential components in various optical devices. Common strategies to construct birefringent crystals are introducing metal cations that are either able to realize favorable coordination with functional anionic units or are susceptible to polarizability anisotropy. Herein, we report a metal-free crystal, NH4(H2C6N7O3)·2H2O, synthesized using the facile solution method. In the crystal structure of NH4(H2C6N7O3)·2H2O, (H2C6N7O3)- functional units are assembled in an optimal manner by cooperative non-covalent interactions, i.e., hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions. As a result, this metal-free crystal possesses exceptional birefringence up to 0.54@550 nm, which is larger than those of most metal-containing birefringent crystals. In addition, the interference color of this crystal does not change obviously from 243 K to 313 K, indicating that the birefringence is robust at different temperatures. This work will inspire useful insights into the role of non-covalent interactions in designing outstanding birefringent crystals for efficient polarized optical devices.

Deep-Ultraviolet Bialkali-Rare Earth Metal Anhydrous Sulfate Birefringent Crystal.

Birefringence is an important linear optical property of anisotropic crystals that plays a significant role in regulating light polarization. A new bialkali-rare earth metal sulfate, NaRbY2(SO4)4 compound, consisting of non-π-conjugated alkali metals and rare earth metal-centered dodecahedral YO8 has been synthesized. The structure analysis suggests that the three-dimensional (3D) structure of the compound is found to be attributable to the combination of dodecahedral YO8 and tetrahedral SO4 groups with Na+ and Rb+ located in the cavities. The ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectra reveal that the compound exhibits transparency at a wavelength of less than 200 nm. The observed birefringence of the compound is 0.045@550 nm, which is comparatively larger than that of most deep-ultraviolet (DUV) birefringent crystals. The birefringence mainly originated from the YO8 dodecahedron, which is suggested by first-principles calculations. This research work can provide a useful perspective to explore new DUV sulfates with excellent birefringence.

C9H7NBrX (X = Cl, Br, NO3): Three Excellent Birefringent Crystals with Distinct Optical Anisotropy Regulated by Anions.

A large optical anisotropy is the most important parameter of birefringent crystals. Integrating π-conjugated groups with large polarizable anisotropy into target compounds is a common strategy for constructing brilliant birefringent crystals. However, the key problem is to enhance the density of the birefringence-active units and further arrange them parallelly. In this study, three novel birefringent crystals, C9H7NBrX (X = Cl, Br, NO3), are successfully synthesized by introducing a new birefringence-active [C9H7NBr]+ unit. Interestingly, these compounds feature similar layered structures but exhibit different optical anisotropies at 550 nm (0.277 for C9H7NBrCl, 0.328 for C9H7NBrBr, and 0.401 for C9H7NBrNO3) owing to the different anions in them. Particularly, the small trigonal planar NO3 anions perfectly fill the interstices of the π-conjugated [C9H7NBr]+ groups with large optical anisotropy, with the resulting compound C9H7NBrNO3 showing superior optical properties compared to the others. The above findings provide strategies for designing new optical materials with large birefringence by matching birefringence-active groups of different sizes. Additionally, a new theory for predicting and comparing the polarizability anisotropy of compounds is proposed, which would guide in exploring large birefringent crystals.

Combining rigid and deformable groups to construct a robust birefringent crystal for compact polarization components.

There is a pressing demand for the development of novel birefringent crystals tailored for compact optical components, especially for crystals exhibiting large birefringence across a range of temperatures. This has commonly been achieved by introducing various deformable groups with high polarizability anisotropy. In this study, we combined both rigid and deformable groups to synthesise a new birefringent crystal, Al2Te2MoO10, which demonstrates an exceptional birefringence value of 0.29@550 nm at room temperature. Not only is this higher birefringence than that of commercial crystals, but Al2Te2MoO10 exhibits excellent birefringence stability over a wide temperature range, from 123 to 503 K. In addition, the first-principles theory calculations and structural analyses suggest that although the rigid AlO6 groups do not make much contribution to the prominent birefringence, they nonetheless played a role in maintaining the structural anisotropy at elevated temperatures. Based on these findings, this paper proposes a novel structural design strategy to complement conventional approaches for developing optimal birefringent crystals under various environmental conditions.

Van der Waals quaternary oxides for tunable low-loss anisotropic polaritonics.

The discovery of ultraconfined polaritons with extreme anisotropy in a number of van der Waals (vdW) materials has unlocked new prospects for nanophotonic and optoelectronic applications. However, the range of suitable materials for specific applications remains limited. Here we introduce tellurite molybdenum quaternary oxides-which possess non-centrosymmetric crystal structures and extraordinary nonlinear optical properties-as a highly promising vdW family of materials for tunable low-loss anisotropic polaritonics. By employing chemical flux growth and exfoliation techniques, we successfully fabricate high-quality vdW layers of various compounds, including MgTeMoO6, ZnTeMoO6, MnTeMoO6 and CdTeMoO6. We show that these quaternary vdW oxides possess two distinct types of in-plane anisotropic polaritons: slab-confined and edge-confined modes. By leveraging metal cation substitutions, we establish a systematic strategy to finely tune the in-plane polariton propagation, resulting in the selective emergence of circular, elliptical or hyperbolic polariton dispersion, accompanied by ultraslow group velocities (0.0003c) and long lifetimes (5 ps). Moreover, Reststrahlen bands of these quaternary oxides naturally overlap that of α-MoO3, providing opportunities for integration. As an example, we demonstrate that combining α-MoO3 (an in-plane hyperbolic material) with CdTeMoO6 (an in-plane isotropic material) in a heterostructure facilitates collimated, diffractionless polariton propagation. Quaternary oxides expand the family of anisotropic vdW polaritons considerably, and with it, the range of nanophotonics applications that can be envisioned.

A Non-π-Conjugated Molecular Crystal with Balanced Second-Harmonic Generation, Bandgap, and Birefringence.

Traditional nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals are exclusively limited to ionic crystals with π-conjugated groups and it is a great challenge to achieve a subtle balance between second-harmonic generation, bandgap, and birefringence for them, especially in the deep-UV spectrum region (Eg  > 6.20 eV). Herein, a non-π-conjugated molecular crystal, NH3 BH3 , which realizes such balance with a large second-harmonic generation response (2.0 × KH2 PO4 at 1064 nm, and 0.45 × ß-BaB2 O4 at 532 nm), deep-UV transparency (Eg > 6.53 eV), and moderate birefringence (Δn = 0.056@550 nm) is reported. As a result, NH3 BH3 exhibits a large quality factor of 0.32, which is evidently larger than those of non-π-conjugated sulfate and phosphate ionic crystals. Using an unpolished NH3 BH3 crystal, effective second-harmonic generation outputs are observed at different wavelengths. These attributes indicate that NH3 BH3 is a promising candidate for deep-UV NLO applications. This work opens up a new door for developing high-performance deep-UV NLO crystals.

Designing a Hybrid Perovskite with Enlarged Birefringence and Bandgap for Modulation of Light Polarization.

Birefringent crystals have important applications in optoelectronics areas due to their ability to modulate and polarize light. Despite increasing discovery of the birefringence potential of new crystals, it remains a great challenge to optimize both birefringence and bandgap simultaneously. Herein, a 1D chain-like hybrid perovskite birefringent crystal designed by 3D-to-1D dimensional tailoring, (GAM)2 PbI7 ·H2 O (GAM = C5 N10 H10 ), is presented, showing enlarged birefringence of 0.49@550 nm and enlarged optical bandgap (2.48 eV). Consequently, the birefringent quality factor of (GAM)2 PbI7 ·H2 O is up to 2.8 times that of the template MAPbI3 . In particular, the birefringence is much larger than those of commercial birefringent crystals and surpasses that of the vast majority of hybrid perovskite known to date. Theoretical calculations reveal that the strongly anisotropic arrangement of (GAM)2.5+ π-conjugated cations and ordered PbI6 octahedra contributes to the large birefringence and wide bandgap of (GAM)2 PbI7 ·H2 O. It is believed that this work will provide a new pathway toward the rational design and synthesis of hybrid perovskite birefringent crystals for compact wide-bandgap polarization dependent devices.

A Two-Dimensional Hybrid Perovskite With Heat Switching Birefringence.

Birefringent crystals that can switch light polarization have important applications in optoelectronics. In the last decades, birefringence is mostly optimized by chemical strategies. Recently, switching birefringence by physical means has attracted much attention. Here, this work reports the observation of heat switching birefringence in a 2D layered hybrid halide perovskite (C2 N3 H4 )2 PbCl4 ((C2 N3 H4 )+ =1,2,4-triazolium). This heat switching birefringence leads to a significant change in the interference color for the crystal plate under the illumination of orthogonal polarized light. Structure analyses reveal a heat dependent structure transition in (C2 N3 H4 )2 PbCl4 , whose birefringence is switched by the change in the distortion degree of PbCl6 octahedron. This discovery may be beneficial to the further development of stimuli-responsive polarization optical devices.

Designing a Dimension Reduced Hybrid Perovskite with Robust Large Birefringence by Expanding Cationic π-Delocation.

It is in great demand to discover new materials with large birefringence for the miniaturization of optical communication devices. In this work, a new one-dimensional hybrid halide perovskite, (C6 N10 H8 )Pb2 Br6 , is obtained successfully through structural design of dimension reduction from the notable three-dimensional halide perovskite CsPbBr3 . Remarkably, (C6 N10 H8 )Pb2 Br6 exhibits a significantly enhanced birefringence of ∆n = 0.42@550 nm, which is the largest among halide perovskites so far. Furthermore, its birefringence performance is robust in a wide temperature range of 300-440 K. Theoretical calculations reveal that this outstanding birefringence results from the synergistic effect of [PbBr6 ]4- octahedra and [C6 N10 H8 ]2+ cations with expanding π-delocation. According to further structural analyses, the structural dimension reduction cooperating with the increase of [PbBr6 ]4- octahedral distortion leads to the enhanced birefringence. This work uncovers the great promise of hybrid halide perovskites as robust birefringent crystals in future optical communication and would shed useful insights on the design and synthesis of new birefringent crystals.

Mixed Alkali Metal and Alkaline Earth Metal Scandium Borate Birefringence Material with Layered Structure and Short Ultraviolet Cutoff Edge.

Birefringent crystals are essential in the domains of linear and nonlinear optics that need light wave polarization control. Rare earth borate has become a popular study material for ultraviolet (UV) birefringence crystals due to its short cutoff edge in the UV area. RbBaScB6O12, a two-dimensional layered structure compound with the B3O6 group, was effectively synthesized through spontaneous crystallization. The UV cutoff edge of RbBaScB6O12 is shorter than 200 nm, and the experimental birefringence is 0.139 @ 550 nm. Theoretical research indicates that the large birefringence originates from the synergistic impact of the B3O6 group and the ScO6 octahedron. RbBaScB6O12 is an outstanding candidate material for birefringence crystals in the UV and even deep UV regions due to its short UV cutoff edge and significant birefringence.

A Hydrogen Bonded Supramolecular Framework Birefringent Crystal.

Birefringent crystals could modulate the polarization of light and are widely used as polarizers, waveplates, optical isolators, etc. To date, commercial birefringent crystals have been exclusively limited to purely inorganic compounds such as α-BaB2 O4 with birefringence of about 0.12. Herein, we report a new hydrogen bonded supramolecular framework, namely, Cd(H2 C6 N7 O3 )2 ⋅8 H2 O, which exhibits exceptionally large birefringence up to about 0.60. To the best of our knowledge, the birefringence of Cd(H2 C6 N7 O3 )2 ⋅8 H2 O is significantly larger than those of all commercial birefringent crystals and is the largest among hydrogen bonded supramolecular framework crystals. First-principles calculations and structural analyses reveal that the exceptional birefringence is mainly ascribed to strong covalent interactions within (H2 C6 N7 O3 )- organic ligands and the perfect coplanarity between them. Given the rich structural diversity and tunability, hydrogen bonded supramolecular frameworks would offer unprecedented opportunities beyond the traditional purely inorganic oxides for birefringent crystals.

C10H6NO2Cd(NO3)·2H2O: a birefringent crystal with an enlarged band-gap derived from covalent edge-sharing connection.

A new birefringent crystal, C10H6NO2Cd(NO3)·2H2O, was designed by combining a π-conjugated [C10H6NO2]- group with a CdO7N polyhedron. Notably, the experimental energy gap is 0.02 eV higher than that of the organic raw material, which resulted from a covalent edge-sharing connection, implying a new strategy to improve the band-gap of birefringent materials.

A Second-Order Nonlinear Optical Material Consisting of Two π-Conjugated Groups.

This work reports a new second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) material [C(NH2 )3 ]3 C3 N3 S3 (GU3 TMT), consisting of π-conjugated planar (C3 N3 S3 )3- and triangular [C(NH2 )3 ]+ groups. Interestingly, GU3 TMT exhibits a large NLO response (2.0×KH2 PO4 ) and moderate birefringence 0.067 at wavelength 550 nm, even though (C3 N3 S3 )3- and [C(NH2 )3 ]+ do not exhibit the most favorable arrangement in the structure of GU3 TMT. First-principles calculations suggest that NLO properties mainly originate from the highly π-conjugated (C3 N3 S3 )3- rings, and the π-conjugated [C(NH2 )3 ]+ triangles contribute much less to the overall NLO response. This work will inspire new thoughts with in-depth on the role of π-conjugated groups in NLO crystals.

Ba1.09Pb0.91Be2(BO3)2F2: The First Pb-Containing Beryllium Borate Fluoride with Trigonal Prismatic PbO6 and 2D [Be3B3O6F3]∞ Layers.

Ba1.09Pb0.91Be2(BO3)2F2 (BPBBF), a previously unreported lead-containing beryllium borate fluoride, has been successfully grown through a high-temperature flux method. Its structure is solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD), and it is optically characterized via infrared, Raman, UV-vis-IR transmission, and polarizing spectra as well. SC-XRD data suggests that it can be indexed by a trigonal unit cell (space group P3m1) with lattice parameters a = 4.7478(6) Å, c = 8.3856(12) Å, Z = 1, and V = 163.70(5) Å. This material could be considered as a derivative of the Sr2Be2B2O7 (SBBO) structural motif. It consists of 2D [Be3B3O6F3]∞ layers in the crystallographic ab plane, with divalent Ba2+ or Pb2+ cations serving as spacers among the adjacent layers. Ba and Pb were found to adopt a disordered arrangement in the trigonal prismatic coordination within the BPBBF structural lattice, which is evidenced by both structural refinements against SC-XRD data and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The UV absorption edge (279.1 nm) and birefringence (Δn = 0.054@ 546.1 nm) of BPBBF are confirmed by UV-vis-IR transmission and polarizing spectra, respectively. The discovery of this previous unreported SBBO-type material, BPBBF, along with other reported analogues such as BaMBe2(BO3)2F2 (M = Ca, Mg, and Cd), provide a prodigious example for tuning the bandgap, birefringence, and short UV absorption edge via simple chemical substitution.

Bio-Inspired Synthetic Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Frameworks for Efficient Proton Conduction.

Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) are a rising class of promising proton-conducting materials. However, they always suffer from the inherent contradiction between chemical stability and proton conduction. Herein, inspired by the self-assembly of lipid bilayer membranes, a series of aminomethylphosphonic acid-derived single-component HOFs are successfully developed with different substituents attached to the phosphonate oxygen group. They remain highly stable in strong acid or alkaline water solutions for one month owing to the presence of charge-assisted hydrogen bonds. Interestingly, in the absence of external proton carriers, the methyl-substituted phosphonate-based HOF exhibits a very high proton conductivity of up to 4.2 × 10-3  S cm-1 under 80 °C and 98% relative humidity. This value is not only comparable to that of HOFs consisting of mixed ligands but also is the highest reported in single-component HOFs. A combination of single-crystal structure analysis and density functional theory calculations reveals that the high conductivity is attributed to the strengthened H-bonding interactions between positively charged amines and negatively charged phosphonate groups in the channel of bio-inspired HOFs. This finding demonstrates that the well-defined molecular structure of proton conductors is of great importance in the precise understanding of the relationship between structure and property.

A High-Performance Nonlinear Optical Crystal with a Building Block Containing Expanded π-Delocalization.

Common nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals consist of traditional functional building blocks with inherent optical limitation. Herein, inspired by traditional (B3 O6 )3- inorganic building block, we theoretically identified a new type of organic functional building blocks and then successfully synthesized the first cyamelurate NLO crystal, Ba(H2 C6 N7 O3 )2 ⋅ 8 H2 O. To our surprise, the constituent (H2 C6 N7 O3 )- building block is not in structurally optimal arrangement, but Ba(H2 C6 N7 O3 )2 ⋅ 8 H2 O exhibits excellent optical properties including wide band gap of 4.10 eV, very large birefringence of 0.24@550 nm, and exceptionally strong second-harmonic generation (SHG) response of about 12×KH2 PO4 . Both the SHG response and birefringence are much larger than those of commercial NLO crystal ß-BaB2 O4 with optimally aligned (B3 O6 )3- building block. Theoretical calculations suggest that the expanded π-conjugation delocalization within (H2 C6 N7 O3 )- vs (B3 O6 )3- should be responsible to the enhanced performance. This work implies that there is still much room to develop new NLO crystals with excellent functional building blocks that may be longly neglected.

Maximizing the linear and nonlinear optical responses of alkaline tricyanomelaminate.

High-performance bi-functional materials are in urgent demand for the next-generation integrated optical devices. In this work, we successfully synthesized the first tricyanomelaminate with bi-functional optical responses, namely Cs3C6N9•H2O (I), from its analogue Na3C6N9•3H2O by a facile ion exchange method. In contrast to Na3C6N9•3H2O, I realizes an optimal arrangement of π-conjugated (C6N9)3- anion groups in its crystal structure. As a result, the second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) response is greatly enhanced from nearly zero of Na3C6N9•3H2O to ∼9.8 × KH2PO4 of I. Furthermore, I exhibits a giant linear optical anisotropic response (i.e. birefringence) of 0.52 at the wavelength of 550 nm. Both responses are almost the largest among the inorganic compounds of π-conjugated rings, which indicates that I has great potential as a bi-functional optical crystal. Structural and theoretical analyses reveal the microscopic origin of excellent optical properties. This work would attract a lot of interest to the persistently neglected potential of tricyanomelaminates as linear optical and NLO crystals.

Local Polarity-Induced Assembly of Second-Order Nonlinear Optical Materials.

ConspectusSecond-order nonlinear optical (NLO) materials, producing coherent light by the cascaded frequency conversion, are current hot topics in material chemistry and optics, as they play an important role in diverse fields, such as laser technology, precision measurements, and quantum information as well as future space propulsion. The prerequisite for a second-order NLO material is that it must crystallize in a noncentrosymmetric space group, but it tends to be centrosymmetric in terms of thermodynamical stability. Furthermore, it should simultaneously satisfy strict requirements on second-order NLO coefficients, birefringence, optical transmittance windows, crystal growth, and so on. Therefore, it is still an urgent challenge to rationally assemble high-performance second-order NLO materials. In this Account, we first review the significance and background of second-order NLO materials and some strategies to design new second-order NLO materials controllably. After that, we mainly present our recent studies on the rational assembly of second-order NLO materials by the so-called strategy of "local polarity-induced assembly", including: (1) making use of the coordination habit between specific cations like Li+ or Mg2+ and tetrahedral (PO4)3-, (P2O7)4-, and (SO4)2- units to generate the local polarity, and further inducing the assembly of second-order NLO materials of superb optical properties; (2) by virtue of self-condensation of weakly polarizable units, condensation of different weakly polarizable units and partial substitution of O atoms by F or S atoms in weakly polarizable units of tetrahedral MO4 or octahedral MO6 configuration, enhancing the local polarity to induce the assembly of second-order NLO materials; and (3) introducing strongly polarizable units of stereoactive lone pair electrons into π-conjugated systems to afford the local polarity and inducing second-order NLO materials with enhanced NLO responses. Based on this strategy, we successfully assembled a variety of excellent second-order NLO materials and expanded new sources of second-order NLO materials, like fluorooxosilicophosphates, thiosulfates, and borosulfates. Finally, we will conclude the topic and give some prospects for exploring new excellent second-order NLO materials. We believe that the "local polarity-induced assembly" strategy will not only be useful for understanding the structure-property relationships of second-order NLO materials but also provide researchers with insights into obtaining noncentrosymmetric structures that are essential to other functional materials in piezoelectricity, ferroelectricity, and pyroelectricity, etc.

A Hybrid Antiperovskite with Strong Linear and Second-Order Nonlinear Optical Responses.

Antiperovskites have been studied since the 1980s because of their rich physical and chemical properties, but their linear and second-order nonlinear optical responses remain largely unknown. Here we report a new polar crystal, Cs3 Cl(HC3 N3 S3 ) (I), which features a quasi-one-dimensional antiperovskite structure composed of ClCs6 polyhedra and A-site [HC3 N3 S3 ]2- rings. To our best knowledge, this kind of antiperovskite structure is reported for the first time. Remarkably, I exhibits a very strong nonlinear optical response up to 11.4 times that of the benchmark KH2 PO4 and exceptionally large birefringence of 0.52. The first-principles calculations and structural analyses reveal that [HC3 N3 S3 ]2- is the "material gene" while the antiperovskite structural feature making it in a favorable arrangement. This work provides a new structural platform for the rational design of integrated optoelectronic materials with linear and second-order nonlinear optical responses.