Open honeycomb frameworks of sulphides AHg4Ga5S12 (A = Rb, Cs) exhibiting infrared nonlinear optical properties.

A crystal structure with a diamond-like anionic framework belongs to a non-centrosymmetric macrostructure due to the aligned arrangement of tetrahedral units, meeting the premise of second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. Herein, two new Hg-based sulphides, namely RbHg4Ga5S12 (1) and CsHg4Ga5S12 (2), which are isostructural and crystallise in the trigonal space group R3, are successfully isolated in sealed silica tubes by a solid-state reaction. The features of their three-dimensional open honeycomb frameworks are attributed to the parallel alignment of tetrahedral MS4 (M is disordered by 0.444 Hg and 0.555 Ga) building motifs, accompanied by Rb+ (or Cs+) reseating in the cavities. Notably, although the band gap values of 1 and 2 are 2.30 and 2.36 eV, separately, their thermal expansion anisotropies (0.15 and 0.41, respectively) are favourable for achieving laser-induced damage thresholds (5.6 and 5.8 times that of AgGaS2 for 1 and 2, respectively). In addition, the strong polarisability of tetrahedral MS4 building motifs in the diamond-like anionic structures is responsible for the promising second-harmonic generation (SHG) intensities (1.1 and 1.8 times that of AgGaS2 for 1 and 2, respectively) in the particle size range of 50-75 µm with non-phase-matchable behaviour at 1910 nm. Furthermore, theoretical investigation elaborates that electron transitions in compounds 1 and 2 mainly occur from valence band S-3p to conduction band Hg-6s and Ga-4s states, demonstrating that the linear and nonlinear optical properties originate primarily from the synergy of tetrahedral MS4 units.