Recent advances on the synthesis of Sb(III)-based inorganic ultraviolet nonlinear optical materials

Nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals are key components of solid-state lasers and widely used in civilian and military applications. A wide transmission range, a large second harmonic generation (SHG) effect and a suitable birefringence are important factors in determining a nonlinear material with excellent performance. Research on ultraviolet (UV) nonlinear optical materials has concentrated on borates, carbonates, and nitrates containing derivative groups, as well as phosphates and sulfates containing tetrahedral groups, as a result of the anionic group theory's influence. In addition, cations have a significant impact on NLO materials according to recent researches. The introduction of lone electron pair cations Sb(III) has been proven to be an effective strategy by our group, which could modulate the crystal structures of NLO materials to regulate their linear and nonlinear optical properties. This paper presents a short review of the reported Sb(III)-based UV-NLO materials. Also, it gives an overview of the role played by different synthetic methods in the synthesis process of Sb(III)-based UV-NLO materials and how to solve the difficult problems including oxidation and hydrolysis. This work will offer some synthetic concepts for investigating the subsequent class of high-performance UV nonlinear materials.