Ce(IO)F and Ce(IO)(NO): Two Mixed-Anion Cerium Iodates with Good Nonlinear Optical and Birefringent Properties.

Two new mixed-anion cerium iodates, namely, Ce(IO)F and Ce(IO)(NO), have been rationally designed through the integration of hybrid anionic functional building blocks (FBBs). The structure of Ce(IO)F features a novel [Ce(IO)F] bilayer, and the material exhibits large birefringence (0.225 @546 nm). The structure of Ce(IO)(NO) features [Ce(IO)] triple layers that are further linked by planar NO units. Ce(IO)(NO) shows a moderate SHG response (1 × KDP) and a high laser-induced damage threshold value (22 × AgGaS). This work demonstrates that the rich coordination geometries of cerium cations facilitate tuning of the structures of related compounds through modulating anionic FBBs.