Supporting information
Crystallographic Information File (CIF) https://doi.org/10.1107/S0108270106003131/bc1092sup1.cif | |
Structure factor file (CIF format) https://doi.org/10.1107/S0108270106003131/bc1092Isup2.hkl |
Single crystals of RbBe4(BO3)3 were obtained from a melt in a tightly covered Pt crucible with initial materials of BeF2 (0.14 mol), BeO (0.14 mol), Rb2CO3 (0.187 mol), NaF (0.3 mol) and B2O3 (0.4 mol). The melt was cooled slowly from 988 to 853 K at a rate of 3 K day−1 and then cooled down to room temperature at a rate of 20 K h−1. Block-shaped crystals of dimensions up to 8 × 4 × 4 mm3 were obtained after treating the contents of the crucible in hot dilute hydrochloric acid to remove the excess flux.
The title compound and its Cs analogue can also be synthesized by solid-state reaction, with the determined composition of RbBe4(BO3)3.
The positions of the Rb atom and some of the O atoms were found in the first round of direct-phase determination. The remaining O, B and Be atoms were located in the subsequent difference Fourier syntheses. The atomic and anisotropic displacement parameters of all atoms were subjected to least-squares refinement. The final difference electron-density map shows a highest peak of 2.01 e Å−3 located 0.64 Å from Rb, and a deepest hole of −1.46 e Å−3 located 1.11 Å from Rb.
Data collection: XSCANS (Bruker, 1997); cell refinement: XSCANS; data reduction: SHELXTL (Bruker, 1997); program(s) used to solve structure: SHELXS97 (Sheldrick, 1997); program(s) used to refine structure: SHELXL97 (Sheldrick, 1997); molecular graphics: ORTEP-3 for Windows (Farrugia, 1997); software used to prepare material for publication: enCIFer (Allen et al., 2004).
RbBe4(BO3)3 | F(000) = 560 |
Mr = 297.94 | Dx = 2.789 Mg m−3 |
Orthorhombic, Pnma | Mo Kα radiation, λ = 0.71073 Å |
Hall symbol: -P 2ac 2n | Cell parameters from 44 reflections |
a = 8.496 (4) Å | θ = 5.7–15.9° |
b = 13.274 (6) Å | µ = 7.01 mm−1 |
c = 6.292 (4) Å | T = 295 K |
V = 709.7 (6) Å3 | Block, colourless |
Z = 4 | 0.4 × 0.4 × 0.2 mm |
Bruker P4 diffractometer | 1156 reflections with I > 2σ(I) |
Radiation source: fine-focus sealed tube | Rint = 0.043 |
Graphite monochromator | θmax = 32.5°, θmin = 3.1° |
ω scans | h = −12→12 |
Absorption correction: empirical (using intensity measurements) ψ scan (Reference) | k = −20→20 |
Tmin = 0.088, Tmax = 0.246 | l = −9→9 |
2586 measured reflections | 3 standard reflections every 97 reflections |
1324 independent reflections | intensity decay: none |
Refinement on F2 | Primary atom site location: structure-invariant direct methods |
Least-squares matrix: full | Secondary atom site location: difference Fourier map |
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)] = 0.044 | w = 1/[σ2(Fo2) + (0.0701P)2 + 0.2245P] where P = (Fo2 + 2Fc2)/3 |
wR(F2) = 0.112 | (Δ/σ)max < 0.001 |
S = 1.06 | Δρmax = 2.01 e Å−3 |
1324 reflections | Δρmin = −1.46 e Å−3 |
83 parameters | Extinction correction: SHELXL97 (Sheldrick, 1997), Fc*=kFc[1+0.001xFc2λ3/sin(2θ)]-1/4 |
0 restraints | Extinction coefficient: 0.083 (6) |
RbBe4(BO3)3 | V = 709.7 (6) Å3 |
Mr = 297.94 | Z = 4 |
Orthorhombic, Pnma | Mo Kα radiation |
a = 8.496 (4) Å | µ = 7.01 mm−1 |
b = 13.274 (6) Å | T = 295 K |
c = 6.292 (4) Å | 0.4 × 0.4 × 0.2 mm |
Bruker P4 diffractometer | 1156 reflections with I > 2σ(I) |
Absorption correction: empirical (using intensity measurements) ψ scan (Reference) | Rint = 0.043 |
Tmin = 0.088, Tmax = 0.246 | 3 standard reflections every 97 reflections |
2586 measured reflections | intensity decay: none |
1324 independent reflections |
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)] = 0.044 | 83 parameters |
wR(F2) = 0.112 | 0 restraints |
S = 1.06 | Δρmax = 2.01 e Å−3 |
1324 reflections | Δρmin = −1.46 e Å−3 |
Geometry. All e.s.d.'s (except the e.s.d. in the dihedral angle between two l.s. planes) are estimated using the full covariance matrix. The cell e.s.d.'s are taken into account individually in the estimation of e.s.d.'s in distances, angles and torsion angles; correlations between e.s.d.'s in cell parameters are only used when they are defined by crystal symmetry. An approximate (isotropic) treatment of cell e.s.d.'s is used for estimating e.s.d.'s involving l.s. planes. |
Refinement. Refinement of F2 against ALL reflections. The weighted R-factor wR and goodness of fit S are based on F2, conventional R-factors R are based on F, with F set to zero for negative F2. The threshold expression of F2 > σ(F2) is used only for calculating R-factors(gt) etc. and is not relevant to the choice of reflections for refinement. R-factors based on F2 are statistically about twice as large as those based on F, and R- factors based on ALL data will be even larger. |
x | y | z | Uiso*/Ueq | ||
Rb | 0.56713 (4) | 0.2500 | 0.67089 (5) | 0.02922 (18) | |
B1 | 0.4493 (4) | 0.2500 | 0.1890 (5) | 0.0159 (5) | |
B2 | 0.6761 (3) | 0.53556 (16) | 0.3063 (4) | 0.0171 (4) | |
Be1 | 0.7205 (3) | 0.35637 (19) | 0.1461 (4) | 0.0184 (5) | |
Be2 | 0.4369 (3) | 0.44254 (19) | 0.0938 (4) | 0.0176 (5) | |
O1 | 0.2972 (2) | 0.2500 | 0.2605 (3) | 0.0174 (4) | |
O2 | 0.52638 (19) | 0.33876 (11) | 0.1526 (2) | 0.0185 (3) | |
O3 | 0.71178 (18) | 0.61848 (11) | 0.4175 (2) | 0.0202 (3) | |
O4 | 0.76103 (19) | 0.44568 (11) | 0.3193 (2) | 0.0190 (3) | |
O5 | 0.55048 (18) | 0.53595 (12) | 0.1638 (2) | 0.0170 (3) |
U11 | U22 | U33 | U12 | U13 | U23 | |
Rb | 0.0289 (2) | 0.0342 (2) | 0.0246 (2) | 0.000 | −0.00395 (11) | 0.000 |
B1 | 0.0157 (11) | 0.0191 (12) | 0.0129 (12) | 0.000 | −0.0017 (10) | 0.000 |
B2 | 0.0173 (9) | 0.0200 (8) | 0.0140 (8) | 0.0006 (7) | 0.0001 (7) | 0.0004 (7) |
Be1 | 0.0174 (10) | 0.0185 (10) | 0.0193 (11) | −0.0004 (8) | −0.0001 (9) | 0.0000 (8) |
Be2 | 0.0180 (11) | 0.0190 (10) | 0.0157 (12) | 0.0000 (7) | 0.0005 (8) | −0.0008 (8) |
O1 | 0.0161 (8) | 0.0179 (8) | 0.0183 (9) | 0.000 | 0.0032 (7) | 0.000 |
O2 | 0.0159 (6) | 0.0179 (6) | 0.0216 (7) | 0.0000 (5) | 0.0002 (5) | 0.0009 (5) |
O3 | 0.0219 (6) | 0.0194 (6) | 0.0193 (7) | 0.0006 (5) | −0.0038 (6) | −0.0025 (5) |
O4 | 0.0179 (6) | 0.0191 (6) | 0.0201 (7) | 0.0016 (5) | −0.0032 (5) | −0.0018 (5) |
O5 | 0.0175 (6) | 0.0198 (6) | 0.0136 (7) | 0.0001 (5) | −0.0017 (4) | 0.0001 (4) |
Rb—O3i | 2.9954 (18) | Be1—O1vii | 1.662 (3) |
Rb—O3ii | 2.9954 (17) | Be1—O2 | 1.667 (3) |
Rb—O3iii | 2.9974 (18) | Be1—Be2 | 2.687 (4) |
Rb—O3iv | 2.9974 (18) | Be1—Be2vii | 2.715 (4) |
Rb—O5ii | 3.187 (2) | Be1—Rbix | 3.554 (3) |
Rb—O5i | 3.187 (2) | Be1—Rbvii | 3.827 (3) |
Rb—B1 | 3.193 (4) | Be2—O4xi | 1.592 (3) |
Rb—O2v | 3.271 (2) | Be2—O2 | 1.616 (3) |
Rb—O2vi | 3.271 (2) | Be2—O5 | 1.632 (3) |
Rb—O1vii | 3.345 (3) | Be2—O5xii | 1.649 (3) |
Rb—B1v | 3.411 (4) | Be2—Be2xii | 2.206 (5) |
Rb—O1 | 3.454 (3) | Be2—Be1xi | 2.715 (4) |
B1—O2 | 1.367 (2) | Be2—Rbix | 3.852 (3) |
B1—O2viii | 1.367 (2) | O1—Be1xiii | 1.662 (3) |
B1—O1 | 1.369 (4) | O1—Be1xi | 1.662 (3) |
B1—Rbix | 3.411 (4) | O1—Rbxi | 3.345 (3) |
B2—O3 | 1.339 (3) | O2—Rbix | 3.271 (2) |
B2—O5 | 1.394 (3) | O3—Be1iii | 1.585 (3) |
B2—O4 | 1.397 (3) | O3—Rbii | 2.9954 (18) |
B2—Rbii | 3.520 (2) | O3—Rbx | 2.9974 (18) |
B2—Rbx | 3.686 (2) | O4—Be2vii | 1.592 (3) |
Be1—O3x | 1.585 (3) | O5—Be2xii | 1.649 (3) |
Be1—O4 | 1.647 (3) | O5—Rbii | 3.187 (2) |
O3i—Rb—O3ii | 71.30 (7) | O4—Be1—Be2 | 87.83 (14) |
O3i—Rb—O3iii | 158.65 (3) | O1vii—Be1—Be2 | 139.13 (17) |
O3ii—Rb—O3iii | 104.62 (5) | O2—Be1—Be2 | 34.45 (9) |
O3i—Rb—O3iv | 104.62 (5) | O3x—Be1—Be2vii | 102.28 (15) |
O3ii—Rb—O3iv | 158.65 (3) | O4—Be1—Be2vii | 32.43 (10) |
O3iii—Rb—O3iv | 71.25 (6) | O1vii—Be1—Be2vii | 83.07 (14) |
O3i—Rb—O5ii | 109.41 (5) | O2—Be1—Be2vii | 135.61 (16) |
O3ii—Rb—O5ii | 44.99 (4) | Be2—Be1—Be2vii | 120.12 (13) |
O3iii—Rb—O5ii | 60.54 (5) | O3x—Be1—Rbix | 56.85 (10) |
O3iv—Rb—O5ii | 123.15 (5) | O4—Be1—Rbix | 156.85 (14) |
O3i—Rb—O5i | 44.99 (4) | O1vii—Be1—Rbix | 95.94 (13) |
O3ii—Rb—O5i | 109.41 (5) | O2—Be1—Rbix | 66.55 (10) |
O3iii—Rb—O5i | 123.15 (5) | Be2—Be1—Rbix | 74.77 (8) |
O3iv—Rb—O5i | 60.54 (5) | Be2vii—Be1—Rbix | 157.38 (11) |
O5ii—Rb—O5i | 126.17 (6) | O3x—Be1—Rb | 170.47 (14) |
O3i—Rb—B1 | 64.90 (5) | O4—Be1—Rb | 76.42 (11) |
O3ii—Rb—B1 | 64.90 (5) | O1vii—Be1—Rb | 60.94 (11) |
O3iii—Rb—B1 | 133.47 (5) | O2—Be1—Rb | 65.74 (10) |
O3iv—Rb—B1 | 133.47 (5) | Be2—Be1—Rb | 87.56 (9) |
O5ii—Rb—B1 | 102.23 (4) | Be2vii—Be1—Rb | 82.28 (9) |
O5i—Rb—B1 | 102.23 (4) | Rbix—Be1—Rb | 117.08 (8) |
O3i—Rb—O2v | 107.35 (4) | O3x—Be1—Rbvii | 47.57 (9) |
O3ii—Rb—O2v | 83.01 (4) | O4—Be1—Rbvii | 116.73 (13) |
O3iii—Rb—O2v | 51.44 (4) | O1vii—Be1—Rbvii | 64.48 (11) |
O3iv—Rb—O2v | 78.25 (5) | O2—Be1—Rbvii | 136.29 (13) |
O5ii—Rb—O2v | 48.93 (4) | Be2—Be1—Rbvii | 141.55 (11) |
O5i—Rb—O2v | 89.16 (5) | Be2vii—Be1—Rbvii | 87.05 (9) |
B1—Rb—O2v | 147.88 (5) | Rbix—Be1—Rbvii | 72.37 (6) |
O3i—Rb—O2vi | 83.01 (4) | Rb—Be1—Rbvii | 125.21 (7) |
O3ii—Rb—O2vi | 107.35 (4) | O4xi—Be2—O2 | 112.63 (17) |
O3iii—Rb—O2vi | 78.25 (5) | O4xi—Be2—O5 | 116.26 (17) |
O3iv—Rb—O2vi | 51.44 (4) | O2—Be2—O5 | 107.93 (16) |
O5ii—Rb—O2vi | 89.16 (5) | O4xi—Be2—O5xii | 113.20 (17) |
O5i—Rb—O2vi | 48.93 (4) | O2—Be2—O5xii | 110.03 (16) |
B1—Rb—O2vi | 147.88 (5) | O5—Be2—O5xii | 95.48 (15) |
O2v—Rb—O2vi | 42.23 (6) | O4xi—Be2—Be2xii | 128.4 (2) |
O3i—Rb—O1vii | 108.16 (5) | O2—Be2—Be2xii | 118.9 (2) |
O3ii—Rb—O1vii | 108.16 (5) | O5—Be2—Be2xii | 48.07 (11) |
O3iii—Rb—O1vii | 93.09 (5) | O5xii—Be2—Be2xii | 47.41 (12) |
O3iv—Rb—O1vii | 93.09 (5) | O4xi—Be2—Be1 | 144.16 (17) |
O5ii—Rb—O1vii | 116.63 (3) | O2—Be2—Be1 | 35.67 (10) |
O5i—Rb—O1vii | 116.63 (3) | O5—Be2—Be1 | 76.13 (12) |
B1—Rb—O1vii | 54.02 (7) | O5xii—Be2—Be1 | 97.82 (13) |
O2v—Rb—O1vii | 144.49 (4) | Be2xii—Be2—Be1 | 85.66 (15) |
O2vi—Rb—O1vii | 144.49 (4) | O4xi—Be2—Be1xi | 33.69 (10) |
O3i—Rb—B1v | 86.87 (6) | O2—Be2—Be1xi | 79.69 (13) |
O3ii—Rb—B1v | 86.87 (6) | O5—Be2—Be1xi | 123.91 (15) |
O3iii—Rb—B1v | 71.88 (6) | O5xii—Be2—Be1xi | 135.19 (15) |
O3iv—Rb—B1v | 71.88 (6) | Be2xii—Be2—Be1xi | 160.53 (19) |
O5ii—Rb—B1v | 66.16 (3) | Be1—Be2—Be1xi | 110.73 (12) |
O5i—Rb—B1v | 66.16 (3) | O4xi—Be2—Rbix | 121.62 (13) |
B1—Rb—B1v | 144.67 (10) | O2—Be2—Rbix | 57.17 (10) |
O2v—Rb—B1v | 23.49 (4) | O5—Be2—Rbix | 121.40 (13) |
O2vi—Rb—B1v | 23.49 (4) | O5xii—Be2—Rbix | 54.37 (9) |
O1vii—Rb—B1v | 161.31 (6) | Be2xii—Be2—Rbix | 87.13 (14) |
O3i—Rb—O1 | 48.38 (4) | Be1—Be2—Rbix | 62.92 (8) |
O3ii—Rb—O1 | 48.38 (4) | Be1xi—Be2—Rbix | 109.36 (10) |
O3iii—Rb—O1 | 143.44 (3) | B1—O1—Be1xiii | 119.09 (12) |
O3iv—Rb—O1 | 143.44 (3) | B1—O1—Be1xi | 119.09 (12) |
O5ii—Rb—O1 | 92.06 (4) | Be1xiii—O1—Be1xi | 116.3 (2) |
O5i—Rb—O1 | 92.06 (4) | B1—O1—Rbxi | 106.57 (16) |
B1—Rb—O1 | 23.35 (6) | Be1xiii—O1—Rbxi | 93.32 (12) |
O2v—Rb—O1 | 128.51 (5) | Be1xi—O1—Rbxi | 93.32 (12) |
O2vi—Rb—O1 | 128.51 (5) | B1—O1—Rb | 67.57 (15) |
O1vii—Rb—O1 | 77.37 (4) | Be1xiii—O1—Rb | 89.77 (12) |
B1v—Rb—O1 | 121.33 (7) | Be1xi—O1—Rb | 89.77 (12) |
O2—B1—O2viii | 119.0 (3) | Rbxi—O1—Rb | 174.14 (7) |
O2—B1—O1 | 120.48 (13) | B1—O2—Be2 | 123.22 (18) |
O2viii—B1—O1 | 120.48 (13) | B1—O2—Be1 | 126.79 (18) |
O2—B1—Rb | 90.52 (15) | Be2—O2—Be1 | 109.88 (15) |
O2viii—B1—Rb | 90.52 (15) | B1—O2—Rbix | 84.00 (14) |
O1—B1—Rb | 89.08 (16) | Be2—O2—Rbix | 98.30 (11) |
O2—B1—Rbix | 72.51 (14) | Be1—O2—Rbix | 85.58 (11) |
O2viii—B1—Rbix | 72.51 (14) | B1—O2—Rb | 66.38 (14) |
O1—B1—Rbix | 126.25 (18) | Be2—O2—Rb | 123.33 (12) |
Rb—B1—Rbix | 144.67 (10) | Be1—O2—Rb | 88.41 (11) |
O3—B2—O5 | 120.43 (19) | Rbix—O2—Rb | 137.31 (5) |
O3—B2—O4 | 123.68 (19) | B2—O3—Be1iii | 136.84 (17) |
O5—B2—O4 | 115.87 (18) | B2—O3—Rbii | 101.71 (12) |
O3—B2—Rbii | 56.42 (11) | Be1iii—O3—Rbii | 109.44 (12) |
O5—B2—Rbii | 64.78 (11) | B2—O3—Rbx | 110.51 (13) |
O4—B2—Rbii | 172.56 (14) | Be1iii—O3—Rbx | 96.88 (12) |
O3—B2—Rbx | 49.60 (11) | Rbii—O3—Rbx | 93.45 (5) |
O5—B2—Rbx | 107.54 (12) | B2—O4—Be2vii | 121.84 (17) |
O4—B2—Rbx | 111.55 (13) | B2—O4—Be1 | 117.91 (16) |
Rbii—B2—Rbx | 74.48 (5) | Be2vii—O4—Be1 | 113.88 (16) |
O3x—Be1—O4 | 111.92 (18) | B2—O5—Be2 | 128.57 (16) |
O3x—Be1—O1vii | 110.95 (18) | B2—O5—Be2xii | 125.69 (16) |
O4—Be1—O1vii | 107.20 (18) | Be2—O5—Be2xii | 84.52 (15) |
O3x—Be1—O2 | 114.28 (18) | B2—O5—Rbii | 91.91 (11) |
O4—Be1—O2 | 106.95 (17) | Be2—O5—Rbii | 125.48 (12) |
O1vii—Be1—O2 | 105.07 (17) | Be2xii—O5—Rbii | 100.77 (11) |
O3x—Be1—Be2 | 97.15 (15) |
Symmetry codes: (i) −x+1, y−1/2, −z+1; (ii) −x+1, −y+1, −z+1; (iii) −x+3/2, −y+1, z+1/2; (iv) −x+3/2, y−1/2, z+1/2; (v) x, y, z+1; (vi) x, −y+1/2, z+1; (vii) x+1/2, y, −z+1/2; (viii) x, −y+1/2, z; (ix) x, y, z−1; (x) −x+3/2, −y+1, z−1/2; (xi) x−1/2, y, −z+1/2; (xii) −x+1, −y+1, −z; (xiii) x−1/2, −y+1/2, −z+1/2. |
Experimental details
Crystal data | |
Chemical formula | RbBe4(BO3)3 |
Mr | 297.94 |
Crystal system, space group | Orthorhombic, Pnma |
Temperature (K) | 295 |
a, b, c (Å) | 8.496 (4), 13.274 (6), 6.292 (4) |
V (Å3) | 709.7 (6) |
Z | 4 |
Radiation type | Mo Kα |
µ (mm−1) | 7.01 |
Crystal size (mm) | 0.4 × 0.4 × 0.2 |
Data collection | |
Diffractometer | Bruker P4 diffractometer |
Absorption correction | Empirical (using intensity measurements) ψ scan (Reference) |
Tmin, Tmax | 0.088, 0.246 |
No. of measured, independent and observed [I > 2σ(I)] reflections | 2586, 1324, 1156 |
Rint | 0.043 |
(sin θ/λ)max (Å−1) | 0.756 |
Refinement | |
R[F2 > 2σ(F2)], wR(F2), S | 0.044, 0.112, 1.06 |
No. of reflections | 1324 |
No. of parameters | 83 |
Δρmax, Δρmin (e Å−3) | 2.01, −1.46 |
Computer programs: XSCANS (Bruker, 1997), XSCANS, SHELXTL (Bruker, 1997), SHELXS97 (Sheldrick, 1997), SHELXL97 (Sheldrick, 1997), ORTEP-3 for Windows (Farrugia, 1997), enCIFer (Allen et al., 2004).
Rb—O3i | 2.9954 (18) | B2—O4 | 1.397 (3) |
Rb—O3ii | 2.9974 (18) | Be1—O3vi | 1.585 (3) |
Rb—O5iii | 3.187 (2) | Be1—O4 | 1.647 (3) |
Rb—O2iv | 3.271 (2) | Be1—O1v | 1.662 (3) |
Rb—O1v | 3.345 (3) | Be1—O2 | 1.667 (3) |
Rb—O1 | 3.454 (3) | Be2—O4vii | 1.592 (3) |
B1—O2 | 1.367 (2) | Be2—O2 | 1.616 (3) |
B1—O1 | 1.369 (4) | Be2—O5 | 1.632 (3) |
B2—O3 | 1.339 (3) | Be2—O5viii | 1.649 (3) |
B2—O5 | 1.394 (3) | ||
O2—B1—O2ix | 119.0 (3) | O4—Be1—O2 | 106.95 (17) |
O2—B1—O1 | 120.48 (13) | O1v—Be1—O2 | 105.07 (17) |
O3—B2—O5 | 120.43 (19) | O4vii—Be2—O2 | 112.63 (17) |
O3—B2—O4 | 123.68 (19) | O4vii—Be2—O5 | 116.26 (17) |
O5—B2—O4 | 115.87 (18) | O2—Be2—O5 | 107.93 (16) |
O3vi—Be1—O4 | 111.92 (18) | O4vii—Be2—O5viii | 113.20 (17) |
O3vi—Be1—O1v | 110.95 (18) | O2—Be2—O5viii | 110.03 (16) |
O4—Be1—O1v | 107.20 (18) | O5—Be2—O5viii | 95.48 (15) |
O3vi—Be1—O2 | 114.28 (18) |
Symmetry codes: (i) −x+1, y−1/2, −z+1; (ii) −x+3/2, −y+1, z+1/2; (iii) −x+1, −y+1, −z+1; (iv) x, y, z+1; (v) x+1/2, y, −z+1/2; (vi) −x+3/2, −y+1, z−1/2; (vii) x−1/2, y, −z+1/2; (viii) −x+1, −y+1, −z; (ix) x, −y+1/2, z. |
Since the discovery of β-BaB2O4 (BBO) as a nonlinear optical (NLO) material about 20 years ago (Chen et al., 1985), several borate NLO crystals have been developed which can sustain high laser damage (Chen et al., 1989; Wu et al., 1993; Mori et al.,1995). Based on a theoretical study, one of the present authors has proposed that beryllium borates possess the largest energy gap among all alkaline and alkaline earth borates, and hence the shortest transmission cut-off wavelength (Li, 1989). Therefore, beryllium borates are good candidates for NLO applications in the ultraviolet (UV) region. In reality, two families of crystals, ABe2BO3F2 (A = Na, K, Rb and Cs) (Baydina et al., 1975; Mei et al., 1994, 1995) and M2Be2B2O7 (M = Sr and Ba) (Chen et al., 1995; Qi & Chen, 2001), have been found to crystallize in noncentrosymmetric space groups and to possess NLO properties. Among these, KBBF (KBe2BO3F2) has proved to be the best material for deep-UV (DUV) applications and is the only material that can generate coherent light down to 170 nm by direct second-harmonic generation (Lu et al., 2001). Apart from these two families of compounds, relatively few synthetic beryllium borate compounds are known. The compounds MBe2B2O6 (M = Sr and Ba) (Schaffers & Keszler, 1990, 1994), CaBeB2O5 (Schaffers & Keszler, 1993), and Li14Be5B(BO3)9 (Luce et al., 1994) have only been partially studied, because of the high toxicity of the Be compounds used as starting materials during their preparation. In this paper, we describe the crystal structure of a new rubidium beryllium borate, RbBe4(BO3)3.
A perspective view of the RbBe4(BO3)3 structure along the a direction is shown in Fig. 1. In the structure, both B atoms are coordinated to three O atoms to form planar BO3 groups, with a mean B—O bond length of 1.372 Å and O—B—O bond angles ranging from 115.9 (2) to 123.7 (2)°. The two Be atoms are bonded to four O atoms and the BeO4 tetrahedra are distorted, with Be—O bond lengths ranging from 1.585 (3) to 1.666 (3) Å and O—Be—O angles from 95.5 (2) to 116.3 (2)°. All O atoms except O3 are in threefold coordinated, as is typical for dense borate compounds (Parthé, 2004). Except for atom O3, the B—O bond lengths are close to their average value of 1.372 Å. The B2—O3 bond involving the two-coordinated atom O3 is the shortest [1.339 (3) Å] and is significantly shorter than the mean B—O length of 1.365 Å in the BO3 groups of most borate compounds (Wells, 1984). The same observation applies to the Be1—O3 bond. Even shorter B—O bonds have been found in other rubidium borate compounds, such as RbLi2Ga2(BO3)3 (Kissick et al., 2000) and LiRbB4O7 (Ono et al., 2000). The short B2—O3 and Be1—O3 bonds reflect not only strong Be1—O3 and B2—O3 bonding, but also underbonding between the Rb and O3 atoms. The small O5—Be2—O5 bond angle [95.5 (2)°] corresponds to edge-sharing between two very distorted Be2O4 tetrahedra.
In the RbBe4(BO3)3 structure, two BeO4 tetrahedra share one common O atom, and each of them also shares a different O atom with a BO3 group, to form a six-membered [Be2BO2x3/3O3/3O2/2]1− ring (hereinafter referred to as [Be2BO4]1−) (Fig. 2). These rings are repeated in the a direction to form a zigzag chain. The basic structural unit, [Be2BO4]1−, is similar to the [Be2BO3F2]1− unit in KBe2BO3F2. However, the [Be2BO3F2]1− rings in KBBF are coplanar with the Be—F bonds alternating up and down, whereas in the title compound, both Be—O bonds point in the same direction and bend the [Be2BO4]1− unit into a zigzag chain. From the study of KBBF and Sr2Be2B2O7, it is known that the [Be2BO4]1− unit can yield large NLO effects and short UV transmission cut-offs. If the [Be2BO4]∞ chain can be arranged favourably, the resulting structure may be a good candidate for DUV NLO applications. Unfortunately, in the case of RbBe4(BO3)3, adjacent chains of [Be2BO4]1− rings in the b direction point in exactly opposite directions and, therefore, their contributions to the NLO effect cancel out.
The [Be2BO4]∞ chains in RbBe4(BO3)3 are connected by O—Be2—O—Be2—O and O—B2—O bonds in the b direction, and by O—Be1—O—B2—O bonds in the c direction, to build three-dimensional zeolite-like cages 6 Å in diameter and tunnels of 5 and 4 Å along the a and b axes, respectively (Fig. 1). The Rb+ cations are located at the centres of the cages and are coordinated by ten O atoms with a bond valence sum (BVS; Brese & O'Keeffe, 1991) of 0.94. The BVS value for Rb and O3 (−1.94) show that they are slightly underbonded and may indicate a possible mobilization of the Rb+ cations in the tunnels at elevated temperature.