Small Changes, Big Impact: Tungsten Bronzes with Extremely Large Second Harmonic Generation Achieved by the Transition Metal Doping on the B-Site

Two novel transition metal-doped tungsten bronze oxides, Pb2.15Li0.85Nb4.85Ti0.15O15 (PLNT) and Pb2.15Li0.55Nb4.85W0.15O15 (PLNW), are synthesized by high-temperature solid-state reactions. The Rietveld method using the high-resolution synchrotron radiation indicates that PLNT and PLNW crystallize in the orthorhombic polar noncentrosymmetric space group, Pmn2(1) (no. 31). As a class of tungsten bronze oxide, PLNT and PLNW retain a unique rigid framework composed of d(0) transition metal cation (Ti4+ or W6+)-doped highly distorted NbO6 octahedra along with the subsequently generated Pb/LiO12 and PbO15 polyhedra. Interestingly, the d(0) transition metal-doped tungsten bronzes, PLNT and PLNW, exhibit extremely large second-harmonic generation (SHG) responses of 56 and 67 x KH2PO4, respectively. The observed immeasurably strong SHG is mainly attributed to a net polarization originating from the alignment of highly distorted NbO6 octahedra with doped transition metals in the frameworks. It is believed that doping transition metal cations at the B-site of the tungsten bronze structures should be an innovative strategy to develop novel high-performance nonlinear optical materials.

Automated summary

Two novel transition metal-doped tungsten bronze oxides, PLNT and PLNW, were synthesized through high-temperature solid-state reactions. The crystal structure analyses showed that both PLNT and PLNW have orthorhombic polar noncentrosymmetric space group Pmn2(1) (no. 31). The highly distorted NbO6 octahedra, along with the Pb/LiO12 and PbO15 polyhedra, form a rigid framework, in which d(0) transition metal cations (Ti4+ or W6+) are doped. PLNT and PLNW exhibit extremely large second-harmonic generation (SHG) responses, mainly due to the alignment of highly distorted NbO6 octahedra with doped transition metals in the frameworks. Doping transition metal cations at the B-site of tungsten bronze structures is considered an innovative strategy for developing high-performance nonlinear optical materials.