Alignment of Λ-Shaped Basic Building Units to Construct One New KMoO3(IO3) Polar Polymorph

Nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals assume an irreplaceable role in the development of laser science and technologies, yet the reasonable design of a highperformance NLO crystal remains difficult owing to the unpredictability of inorganic structures. In this research, we report the fourth polymorph of KMoO3(IO3), i.e., delta- KMoO3(IO3), to understand the effect of different packing patterns of basic building units on structures and properties. Among four polymorphs of KMoO3(IO3), the different stacking patterns of ?-shaped cis-MoO4(IO3)2 units result in alpha- and beta-KMoO3(IO3) featuring nonpolar layered structures, whereas gamma- and delta-KMoO3(IO3) display polar frameworks. Theoretical calculations and structure analysis reveal that IO3 units can be regarded as the main source of its polarization in delta-KMoO3(IO3). Further property measurements show that delta-KMoO3(IO3) exhibits a large second-harmonic generation response (6.6 x KDP), a wide band gap (3.34 eV), and a broad mid-infrared transparency region (similar to 10 mu m), which demonstrates that adjusting the arrangement of the ?-shaped basic building units is an effective approach for rationally designing NLO crystals.

Automated summary

This research reports the fourth polymorph of KMoO3(IO3), i.e., delta-KMoO3(IO3), to investigate the influence of different packing patterns of basic building units on the structures and properties. The study shows that the polarization of delta-KMoO3(IO3) mainly comes from IO3 units. Further measurements reveal that delta-KMoO3(IO3) exhibits a large second-harmonic generation response, a wide band gap, and a broad mid-infrared transparency region, indicating the effective approach of adjusting the arrangement of ?-shaped basic building units in rational design of NLO crystals.