Polar orientation of inorganic anionic groups in the crystal lattice

The search for nonlinear optical (NLO) materials continues. Many methods are known for producing oriented structures of organic molecules, e.g., self‐assembly and templating, but these do not work for inorganic materials. A formula is introduced that acts as a guideline for the synthesis of novel inorganic NLO borate materials and the properties of the first compound synthesized on the basis of this formula, SrBe2(BO3)2, are reported. It is expected that this work can be extended to other inorganic anionic groups.