Nanocluster crystals of lacunary polyoxometalates as structure-design-flexible, inorganic nonlinear materials

Lacunary polyoxometalates, large inorganic, structure-design-flexible, nanocluster crystals are found to have higher optical nonlinearity than KH2PO4 by the powder second-harmonic-generation method. Moreover, the capability of generating ultraviolet radiation down to around 300 nm is found. The basic criteria to design the high nonlinearity are also discovered by the reduction of the molecular symmetry.