Sogang University Synthesizes Peroxomolybdate Crystals with 34.9 Times KDP Response

A joint research team led by chemistry professor Ok Kang-min and physics professor Joon I. Jang at Sogang University, together with postdoctoral researcher Zeng Wei, has synthesized three types of peroxomolybdate crystals that exhibit a second-harmonic generation signal 34.9 times stronger than potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) koreadaily.comkoreadaily.comkoreadaily.comOpen source ↗. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, koreadaily.com reported on November 5, 2026.

Coordination-site engineering

The researchers implemented a coordination-site engineering strategy by varying the coordination modes of organic molecules bound to peroxomolybdate units containing molybdenum and peroxide groups koreadaily.comkoreadaily.comkoreadaily.comOpen source ↗. Modifying how these organic molecules bonded altered the internal atomic alignment and symmetry of the resulting crystalline lattices. The approach allowed the π-electron systems of the organic components, the molybdenum metal centers, and the peroxide electron clouds to collectively drive nonlinear optical activity within non-centrosymmetric structures koreadaily.comkoreadaily.comkoreadaily.comOpen source ↗.

Harmonic generation performance

During optical testing, the synthesized crystals converted light under a 1300 nm fundamental laser source, yielding a second-harmonic response 34.9 times that of standard KDP koreadaily.comkoreadaily.comkoreadaily.comOpen source ↗. The materials maintained their nonlinear optical characteristics under high-intensity laser irradiation. The authors combined laboratory crystal synthesis, structural determination, optical measurements, and theoretical calculations to map how structural modifications directly govern the efficiency of wavelength conversion koreadaily.comkoreadaily.comkoreadaily.comOpen source ↗.