Na3Ge2P3: A Zintl Phase Featuring [P3Ge-GeP3] Dimers as Building Blocks

Recently, ternary lithium phosphidotetrelates have attracted interest particularly due to their high ionic conductivities, while corresponding sodium and heavier alkali metal compounds have been less investigated. Hence, we report the synthesis and characterization of the novel ternary sodium phosphidogermanate Na3Ge2P3, which is readily accessible via ball milling of the elements and subsequent annealing. According to single crystal X-ray structure determination, Na3Ge2P3 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c (no. 14.) with unit cell parameters of a = 7.2894(6) Å, b = 14.7725(8) Å, c = 7.0528(6) Å, β = 106.331(6)° and forms an unprecedented two-dimensional polyanionic network in the b/c plane of interconnected [P3Ge-GeP3] building units. The system can also be interpreted as differently sized ring structures that interconnect and form a two-dimensional network. A comparison with related ternary compounds from the corresponding phase system as well as with the binary compound GeP shows that the polyanionic network of Na3Ge2P3 resembles an intermediate step between highly condensed cages and discrete polyanions, which highlights the structural variety of phosphidogermanates. The structure is confirmed by 23Na- and 31P-MAS NMR measurements and Raman spectroscopy. Computational investigation of the electronic structure reveals that Na3Ge2P3 is an indirect band gap semiconductor with a band gap of 2.9 eV.

The Rise of Infrared Nonlinear Optical Pnictides: Advances and Outlooks

Infrared (IR) nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are the core devices to realize IR laser output, which are of vital importance in civilian and military fields. Non-centrosymmetric chalcogenide and pnictide compounds have already been widely accepted as favorable systems for IR-NLO materials. Compared to the extensively investigated IR-NLO chalcogenides during the past few decades, the research of non-centrosymmetric phosphides as IR-NLO materials is relatively scarce. In this frontier article, the recent progress of pnictides as emerging IR-NLO candidates has been highlighted based on the perspective of new crystal exploration. These IR-NLO pnictides recently reported were divided into three groups from binary to quaternary according to their chemical compositions. The synthetic methods, structural chemistry, and structure-activity relationships are analyzed and summarized in detail. Finally, current problems and the future development of this field are also proposed.