Studies of thiocyanates of silver for nonlinear optics

As the aim of this study was to synthesize optically active binary and ternary thiocyanates of silver, which could be utilized in the field of laser technology, a concise literary review of the nonlinear optical materials is presented. The field of nonlinear optics is vast, and the review is mainly restricted to the common features and practical applications of the nonlinear optical materials, while the theory of nonlinear optics is presented only superficially. The review of the literature introduces the thiocyanate ion and its various ways of coordination. Finally, the selected structures of various thiocyanates of silver are reviewed and the substructures formed by silver and sulfur are discussed. In the experimental part eight crystal structures of binary and ternary thiocyanates of silver, two of them having been published quite recently by another research group, are reported. Synthesis and characterization of the compounds are discussed. The compounds reported are as follows: K[Ag(SCN)2], K2[Ag(SCN)3], K3[Ag(fCN)4], Ca[Ag2(SCN)4]· 2H2O, CaCs2[Ag2(SCN)6]· 2H2O, Cs[AgZn(NCS)4], Cs2[AgZn(SCN)5] and Cs[Ag4Zn2(SCN)9].