posted on 2023-12-11, 15:20authored byJinxuan Ren, Hui Cui, Linhong Cheng, Yuqiao Zhou, Xuehua Dong, Daojiang Gao, Ling Huang, Liling Cao, Ning Ye
Herein,
three alkali metal mercury selenites, K2Hg2(SeO3)3, Rb2Hg2(SeO3)3, and Cs2Hg3(SeO3)4, were successfully obtained by a hydrothermal
method. The three compounds featured same one-dimensional (1D) [HgOm(SeO3)n]∞ chain structure
that consisting of distorted Hg–O polyhedra and SeO3 triangular pyramids with stereochemically active lone pair (SCALP)
electrons. Interestingly, the rich coordination environment of Hg
atoms and the size difference of alkali metal cations lead to diverse
arrangement of SeO3 groups, which makes them exhibit different
birefringence. The band gaps of the three compounds indicate that
they are potential ultraviolet (UV) optical materials. Detailed theoretical
calculations demonstrate that the combined effects of SeO3 triangular pyramids and Hg–O polyhedra are responsible for
the optical characteristics of the reported compounds.