Pb4(OH)4(BrO3)3(NO3): An Example of SHG Crystal in Metal Bromates Containing π-Conjugated Planar Triangle

The first example of SHG crystal in the metal bromates containing π-conjugated planar triangle systems, namely, Pb4(OH)4(BrO3)3(NO3), was successfully synthesized via the hydrothermal method. Furthermore, a single crystal of centrosymmetric Pb8O(OH)6(BrO3)6(NO3)2·H2O was also obtained. Both compounds contain similar [Pb4(OH)4] cubane-like tetranuclear clusters, but they display different one-dimensional (1D) chain structures. Pb4(OH)4(BrO3)3(NO3) features a zigzag [Pb4(OH)4(BrO3)3](+) 1D chain, while Pb8O(OH)6(BrO3)6(NO3)2·H2O is composed of two different orthogonal chains: the linear [Pb4(OH)4(BrO3)2](2+) 1D chain along the b-axis and the zigzag [Pb4O2(OH)2(BrO3)4](2-) 1D chain along the a-axis. The NO3 planar triangles of the compounds are all isolated and located in the spaces of the structures. Pb4(OH)4(BrO3)3(NO3) exhibits the first example of SHG crystal in the metal bromates with π-conjugated planar triangle. The second-harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of Pb4(OH)4(BrO3)3(NO3) is approximately equal to that of KDP and it is phase-matchable. Dipole moment and theory calculations indicate that BrO3, NO3, and PbO4 groups are the origin of its SHG efficiency, although some of the contributions cancel each other out.