Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Nonlinear Optical Property of an Anhydrous Sulfate KTb(SO4)2.

A new alkali metal-rare earth metal anhydrous sulfate, KTb(SO4)2 (KTSO), was synthesized by a hydrothermal method. It crystallized in the non-centrosymmetric (NCS) orthorhombic space group P212121 with cell parameters a = 5.43950(10), b = 8.8579(3), c = 13.3962(4), Z = 2. Its structure is composed of [KO11], [TbO8], and [SO4] groups, which are interconnected to constitute a one-dimensional (1D) chain, and then further linked to construct a three-dimensional (3D) network structure through [SO4] units. The results of the powder frequency doubling test show that KTb(SO4)2 has a phase-matching second-order nonlinear optical effect of 0.3 times that of KH2PO4 (KDP). The measured birefringence of the crystal (0.01) agrees well with the calculated value (0.019). Meanwhile, its infrared and ultraviolet spectrum and thermal properties were studied, respectively. Its optical properties and band gap structure are studied by theoretical calculation. This work provides a NCS structure of anhydrous sulfates and offers guidance for further exploration of new anhydrous sulfates.