Ba2[MoO3(OH)(IO3)2]IO3: A Promising SHG Material Featuring a Λ‑Shaped Functional Motif Achieved by Universal Mono-Site Substitution

• Published in: Chemistry of materials Vol. 32; no. 15; pp. 6780 - 6787
• Main Authors: Huang, Qian-Ming, Hu, Chun-Li, Yang, Bing-Ping, Tang, Ru-Ling, Chen, Jin, Fang, Zhi, Li, Bingxuan, Mao, Jiang-Gao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 11.08.2020
• ISSN: 0897-4756; 1520-5002
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c02657

The first polar alkaline-earth metal molybdenum iodate, Ba2[MoO3(OH)­(IO3)2]­IO3, with a Λ-shaped [MoO3(OH)­(IO3)2]3– functional motif, was rationally designed. A zero-dimensional (0D) [MoO3(OH)­(IO3)2]3– unit is derived from 0D [MoO2(OH)­(IO3)3]2– polyanion through anionic mono-site substitution. Ba2[MoO3(OH)­(IO3)2]­IO3 possesses a strong phase-matchable second-harmonic-generation (SHG) response of approximately 8 times that of benchmark KH2PO4 (KDP), a broad transparent spectral region from near-ultraviolet to mid-infrared (0.29–10.6 μm), a large band gap of 3.78 eV, and a high laser-induced damage threshold (LDT) of 92.3 MW cm–2. The results suggest that Ba2[MoO3(OH)­(IO3)2]­IO3 can be potentially applied in the mid-infrared nonlinear optical field. Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the large SHG response of the title compound originates mainly from the Λ-shaped [MoO3(OH)­(IO3)2]3– functional unit. From multisite substitution to mono-site substitution, this work provides a more generic route to synthesize SHG materials.