Increasing the energy band gap under the premise to maintain a large nonlinear optical (NLO) response is a challenging issue for the exploration and molecular design of mid-infrared nonlinear optical...

The new nonlinear optical material SrZnSnS4 is a two-dimensional layer structure with a large band gap (3.37 eV). The orderly arrangement of [ZnS4]6− and [SnS4]4− groups mainly contribute to the second harmonic generation effect (∼LiGaS2).

The new nonlinear optical material Sr3MnSn2S8 is a noncentrosymmetric structure with a large band gap of 3.02 eV. In addition, Sr3MnSn2S8 possesses a good second harmonic generation (SHG) response, approximately equivalent to that of AgGaS2, and a high laser damage threshold (LDT) about 3 times that of AgGaS2 (AGS).

In the military and civilian fields, with the development of new technologies, high-powered nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals demonstrate broad application prospects. In this work, for purposes of designing a better NLO material, a new chalcogenide Rb 10 Zn 4 Sn 4 S 17 was successfully designed with a high temperature solid-state method on the basis of previously reported compound Sr 3 MnSn 2 S 8 . The experimental results indicate that Rb 10 Zn 4 Sn 4 S 17 possesses a prominent band gap of 3.59 eV, compared with the laser damage threshold (LDT) of Sr 3 MnSn 2 S 8 (3 times that of AgGaS 2 ); Rb 10 Zn 4 Sn 4 S 17 shows an outstanding LDT about 5 times that of AgGaS 2 . Meanwhile, it has an ideal second harmonic generation (SHG) response approximately 0.7 times that of AgGaS 2 .

Nanoscale engineering of regular structured materials is immensely demanded in various scientific areas. In this work, vertically oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays were grown by self-organizing electrochemical anodization. The effects of different fluoride ion concentrations (0.2 and 0.5 wt% NH4F) and different anodization times (2, 5, 10 and 20 h) on the morphology of nanotubes were systematically studied in an organic electrolyte (glycol). The growth mechanisms of amorphous and anatase TiO2 nanotubes were also studied. Under optimized conditions, we obtained TiO2 nanotubes with tube diameters of 70–160 nm and tube lengths of 6.5–45 μm. Serving as free-standing and binder-free electrodes, the kinetic, capacity, and stability performances of TiO2 nanotubes were tested as lithium-ion battery anodes. This work provides a facile strategy for constructing self-organized materials with optimized functionalities for applications.