Issue 5, 2025

Synthesis by size focusing of lithium tantalate nanoparticles with a tunable second harmonic optical activity

Abstract

Nonlinear optics at the nanoscale has emerged as a sought-after platform for sensing and imaging applications. The development of these materials is having an impact on fields that include advanced information technology, signal processing circuits, and cryptography. Lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) is an attractive nonlinear optical material due to its high optical damage threshold (e.g., tolerance to >500 MW cm−2 from a nanosecond pulsed laser) and broad range of ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) transparency (i.e., 0.28–5.5 μm) relative to many other nonlinear optical materials (e.g., niobates, titanates). Despite many synthetic reports on metal oxides, very little is known about the preparation of uniform, crystalline LiTaO3 nanoparticles (NPs) of a pure phase, as well as details on their mechanism of nucleation and growth. In this article, we introduce a solution-phase method for the preparation of LiTaO3 NPs with tunable dimensions. This solution-phase process results in the formation of crystalline, uniform NPs of LiTaO3 of a pure phase when carried out at 220 °C. This method can prepare crystalline LiTaO3 NPs without the need for further heat treatment or the use of an inert atmosphere. Results presented herein also provide insights into the growth mechanism of these NPs. The reaction included the processes of oriented attachment and Ostwald ripening. The results of our study also indicate that the growth of the LiTaO3 NPs was a result of a “size focusing” effect, which enables the ability to tune their diameters from 200 to 500 nm. The crystalline NPs were optically active towards second harmonic generation (SHG). These studies deepen our understanding of the methods by which NPs can be prepared from metal oxides. These studies specifically demonstrate the preparation of optically active LiTaO3 NPs of uniform and controllable dimensions that could be used in a broad range of fundamental studies and applications in nanophotonics.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis by size focusing of lithium tantalate nanoparticles with a tunable second harmonic optical activity

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Sep 2024
Accepted
26 Nov 2024
First published
06 Dec 2024

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025,13, 2312-2321

Synthesis by size focusing of lithium tantalate nanoparticles with a tunable second harmonic optical activity

R. F. Ali and B. D. Gates, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, 13, 2312 DOI: 10.1039/D4TC03938F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements