NaCl·CH4N2O·H2O: An Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Ultraviolet Nonlinear Optical Crystal with Optimized Comprehensive Properties

Ultraviolet (UV) nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals are a vital component in laser systems to modulate frequency. Organic groups have the advantages of easy synthesis, structural diversity, and large hyperpolarizations (β), which can be combined with inorganic groups to form unique organic–inorganic hybrid NLO crystal materials. Herein, a urea-containing crystal NaCl·CH4N2O·H2O is screened out and large-size crystals have been grown by a simple aqueous solution method. Compared with most reported organic–inorganic hybrid NLO materials, it has optimized comprehensive properties including a large SHG effect of 1.53 × KDP, a moderate birefringence (0.084@1064 nm), and a short UV cutoff edge of 209 nm. First-principles studies reveal that the dominant contributor to the linear and nonlinear optical properties is the urea molecule.