Black Titanium-Oxo Clusters with Ultralow Band Gaps and Enhanced Nonlinear Optical Performance

A series of catecholate-functionalized titanium-oxo clusters (TOCs), PTC-271 to PTC-277, with atomically precise structures were synthesized and characterized, including distinctive “boat” and “chair” conformations in PTC-273 and PTC-274, respectively. These cluster compounds are prominent for their ultralow optical band gaps, as is visually evident from the rather unusual black TOCs (B-TOCs), PTC-272 to PTC-277. The cluster structures were found to be ultrastable with respect to air, water, organic solvents, and even acidic or basic aqueous solutions in a wide pH range (pH 0–13), owing to the stabilizing effects of catecholate and its derivatives, as well as the carboxylate ligands. Another prominent feature is the occurrence of third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) performance, which has previously been unreported in the field of homometallic titanium-oxo clusters. Open-aperture Z-scan experiments show significant solid-state optical limiting (OL) applications of these B-TOCs, with high laser irradiation stability and low minimum normalized transmittance (Tmin) of PTC-273 as ∼0.17. Meanwhile, theoretical calculations indicate that the smaller band gaps of B-TOCs were beneficial for strengthening the NLO response. This work not only represents a significant milestone in the construction of stable low-band gap black titanium oxide materials but also contributes to the mechanism insights into their optical applications.