Giant Optical Activity and Second Harmonic Generation in 2D Hybrid Copper Halides. (1st March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Guo, Zhihang; Li, Junzi; Wang, Changshun; Liu, Rulin; Liang, Jiechun; Gao, Yang; Cheng, Jiaji; Zhang, Wenjing; Zhu, Xi; Pan, Ruikun; He, Tingchao
• Is Part Of: Angewandte Chemie. Volume 133:Number 15(2021)
• Page Start: 8522
• Page End: 8526
• Publication Date: 2021-03-01
• Subjects: chirality -- circular dichroism -- hybrid copper halides -- nonlinear optics -- second harmonic generation; Chemistry -- Periodicals; 540
• DOI: 10.1002/ange.202015445
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0044-8249

Abstract

Abstract: Hybrid organic–inorganic metal halides have emerged as highly promising materials for a wide range of applications in optoelectronics. Incorporating chiral organic molecules into metal halides enables the extension of their unique optical and electronic properties to chiral optics. By using chiral ( R )‐ or ( S )‐methylbenzylamine (R‐/S‐MBA) as the organic component, we synthesized chiral hybrid copper halides, (R‐/S‐MBA)2 CuCl4, and investigated their optical activity. Thin films of this material showed a record anisotropic g‐factor as high as approximately 0.06. We discuss the origin of the giant optical activity observed in (R‐/S‐MBA)2 CuCl4 by theoretical modeling based on density functional theory (DFT) and demonstrate highly efficient second harmonic generation (SHG) in these samples. Our study provides insight into the design of chiral materials by structural engineering, creating a new platform for chiral and nonlinear photonic device applications of the chiral hybrid copper halides. Abstract : Chiral 2D hybrid metal halides ((R‐/S‐MBA)2 CuCl4 ) were synthesized, and their optical activity was investigated. The materials exhibited a record anisotropic g‐factor of up to about 0.06 and efficient second harmonic generation (see picture). Calculations demonstrated that their giant optical activity is induced by the high joint density of states. Hence, the chiral (R‐/S‐MBA)2 CuCl4 films should be suitable for use in chiral and nonlinear photonic devices.