The role of two coordination compounds as novel transparent nonlinear optical crystals

• Published in: Progress in crystal growth and characterization of materials 2000-01, Vol.40 (1), p.115-121
• Main Authors: Qin, Jingui, Dai, Chaoyang, Zhang, Jun, Su, Nanbing, Yang, Chuluo, Luo, Baosheng, Liu, Daoyu, Wu, Baichang, Chen, Chuangtian, Day, Michael W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; coordination compound; crystal structure; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Inorganic compounds; Nonlinear optical crystals; nonlinear optics; Optical materials; Optics; Physics; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography; Structure of specific crystalline solids; synthesis; zinc
• ISSN: 0960-8974; 1878-4208
• DOI: 10.1016/S0960-8974(00)00028-0

This paper reports the synthesis, structure and properties of two coordination compounds which are transparent in the visible region and show a relatively strong nonlinear optical (NLO) effect. The first crystal, Zn(2-NH 2py) 2CI 2 (2-aminopyridine zinc dichloride, DAZC), shows a SHG (second harmonic generation) effect 8 times as strong as that of KDP. X-ray single crystal structure analysis reveals that the molecule possesses a tetrahedron configuration around the zinc atom, and all the molecules are aligned in an almost fully parallel direction.The second compound, Zn(acac) 2(PhTU) (phenylthiourea zinc diacetylacetate, PZDA), shows a powder SHG effect as strong as 10 times that of KDP. X-ray single crystal structure analysis shows that the molecule possesses a square pyramidal configuration around the zinc ion, and the molecules are aligned almost in a parallel arrangement in the lattice. These two crystals may represent a novel strategy for designing new transparent NLO materials.