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Updated: Sep 23, 2026

Uncovering Hidden Dynamics of Natural Photonic Structures Using Holographic Imaging
Published on: March 31, 2022
Strong Second-Order Nonlinear Optical Activities in Chiral Hybrid Copper(I) Bromide Microplates
Zhihang Guo1, Yujie Hong2, Yecheng Leng1
1School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Abstract:
Organic-inorganic chiral hybrid metal halides (HMHs) with efficient second-order nonlinear optical responses are promising for various photonic applications. However, chiral HMHs that simultaneously deliver strong second-harmonic generation (SHG) and pronounced nonlinear chiroptical responses remain limited. Herein, we report a pair of chiral hybrid copper(I) bromide microplates, (R- and S-MPZ)Cu2Br4 (MPZ = 2-methylpiperazinediium), which crystallize in the noncentrosymmetric space group P212121 and feature distinctive one-dimensional zigzag chains constructed from three-coordinate trigonal-planar CuBr3 units. Benefiting from the highly distorted Cu─Br frameworks, the microplates exhibit an SHG intensity approximately 376 times that of Y-cut quartz at 870 nm, together with a high laser damage threshold of up to 11.14 mJ cm-2. More importantly, the (R- and S-MPZ)Cu2Br4 microplates display effective SHG circular dichroism (SHG-CD) and circularly polarized SHG responses, enabling a conceptual chirality-encoded SHG tagging and decoding protocol. This work highlights chiral hybrid copper(I) halides as a versatile lead-free platform for integrating efficient frequency conversion, nonlinear chiroptical functionality, and information encryption capabilities.
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