Point-to-volume engineering enables enhanced birefringence and a wide bandgap in hybrid halide ultraviolet nonlinear optical crystals

A novel hybrid halide UV NLO crystal, MFZC, was obtained via a point-to-volume substitution strategy by replacing free Cl⁻ anions in MFC with distorted [ZnCl 4 ] 2− tetrahedra. MFZC exhibit wide bandgap, strong SHG response and enhanced birefringence.