Theoretical investigation of the second-order nonlinear optical properties of helical pyridine-pyrimidine oligomers

The structure and second-order nonlinear optical properties of a series of helical pyridine-pyrimidine oligomers recently synthesized by Barboiu and Lehn have been investigated theoretically by combining molecular mechanics and quantum chemistry approaches. In the absence of substituents, the hyper-Rayleigh scattering response (betaHRS) and the projection of the first hyperpolarizability on the dipole moment (beta||) exhibit periodic variations with chain length, but these nonlinear optical responses remain small. The first hyperpolarizabilities can, however, be enhanced by adding substituents. The greatest enhancement is obtained by substituting the pyrimidine groups by donor groups. Moreover, regular distributions of the donor groups around the helices enable the design of supramolecular structures exhibiting dipolar, octupolar or Lambda-shaped nonlinear optical characters, evident from the values of the depolarization ratios in hyper-Rayleigh scattering. Therefore this theoretical investigation demonstrates the potential of helical structures for the organization of chromophores in such a way that they exhibit large and specific second-order nonlinear optical responses.     

Theoretical study of the second-order nonlinear optical properties of [N]helicenes and [N]phenylenes

The second-order nonlinear optical properties of helicenes and phenylenes have been theoretically investigated at the time-dependent Hartree-Fock level using the Austin model 1 semiempirical Hamiltonian. Both the antisymmetric isotropic component of the first hyperpolarizability (beta) and its projection on the dipole moment (beta(parallel)) have been determined for increasingly large helical systems as well as for their analogs substituted by donor/acceptor pairs. It is found that (i) in nonsubstituted helicenes and phenylenes, beta increases monotonically with the size of the system and slightly depends on the nature of the helix; (ii) the corresponding beta(parallel) is mostly determined by the radial component of the first hyperpolarizability vector; (iii) in helicenes, beta(parallel) is positive and presents quasiperiodic oscillations with the helix; (iv) in phenylenes, beta(parallel) depends upon the size of the helix and it can be either positive or negative as a result of the differences in evolution with N of the radial components of the dipole moment and first hyperpolarizability. Substituting the helicenes and phenylenes by the prototypical NH2/NO2 donor/acceptor pair provides a diversity of effects on beta and beta(parallel) that encompasses decrease, increase, and change in sign.     

Second-harmonic generation in GFP-like proteins

The second-order nonlinear optical properties of green fluorescent proteins (GFPs), such as the photoswitchable Dronpa and enhanced GFP (EGFP), have been studied at both the theoretical and experimental levels. In the case of Dronpa, both approaches are consistent in showing the rather counterintuitive result of a larger second-order nonlinear polarizability (or first hyperpolarizability, beta) for the protonated state, which has a higher transition energy, than for the deprotonated, fluorescent state with its absorption at lower energy. Moreover, the value of beta for the protonated form of Dronpa is among the highest reported for proteins. In addition to the pH dependence, we have found a wavelength dependence in the beta values. These properties are essential for the practical use of Dronpa or other GFP-like fluorescent proteins as second-order nonlinear fluorophores for symmetry-sensitive nonlinear microscopy imaging and as nonlinear optical sensors for electrophysiological processes. An accurate value of the first hyperpolarizability is also essential for any qualitative analysis of the nonlinear images.     

Characterisation and theoretical investigation of the electronic properties and second-order nonlinearity of some three dentate salicylaldiminato Schiff base ligands

A series of asymmetric three dentate salicylaldiminato Schiff base ligands 1-4 (Scheme 1) has been synthesized and their structures, electronic properties and second order nonlinearities are investigated using the AM1 Hamiltonian SCF-MO methods. The analysis of MOs indicates that the O(2) atom could be the coordination site if the ligands were monodentate. In addition, the atomic orbitals on the O(9) atom have no contributions to the frontier MOs of the anionic form of these three dentate ligands. The Mulliken populations reveal that the coordination sites N(6) and O(9) possess different character in generation of the Schiff base complexes. The molecular first-order hyperpolarizability value of ligands was calculated using finite field method. Generally the presence of the methoxy group as third dentate play a major role in increasing the second harmonic generation (SHG) responses of three dentate ligands. Comparison of the NLO properties of two dentate with three dentate salicylaldiminine-based ligands reveals that the presence of -NO2 and -OCH3 groups as R1 and R2 substituents enhance the second-order nonlinear optic properties of these type ligands.     

Nonlinear optical properties of zwitterionic merocyanine aggregates: role of intermolecular interaction and solvent polarity

We present a time-dependent quantum-chemical analysis on merocyanine aggregates to understand the insight of the intermolecular interactions and to find the relationship between structural and collective nonlinear optical properties. The first hyperpolarizabilities are evaluated for monomer and aggregates of a series of zwitterionic merocyanine dyes, whose synthesis and formation of H and J type aggregates in solvents are reported recently in the literature (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 9431). The molecular geometries are obtained via B3LYP/6-31G (hybrid density-functional theory) optimization including PCM approach, while the dynamic NLO properties are calculated with the TD-DFT/SOS and ZINDO/CV method including solvent effects. It has been observed that the first hyperpolarizability changes tremendously as monomers undergo aggregation, and the magnitude of first hyperpolarizabilities highly depends on the nature of the aggregates. It is found that solvents play a remarkable role on the structure and first hyperpolarizabilities of merocyanine monomers and aggregates. Changing the solvent from low to high dielectric causes not only an increase in magnitude of beta but also a change in sign, therefore passing through zero at intermediate dielectric. The importance of our results on the design of electrooptic materials have been discussed.     

联吖叮氮氧自由基体系及其衍生物NLO性质的密度泛函理论研究

以实验合成的联吖叮氮氧自由基分子为母体, 设计了7个自由基分子. 采用密度泛函理论(DFT) UB3LYP/6-31g(d,p)方法对这些自由基分子不同自旋态的稳定性和非线性光学(NLO)系数进行计算. 结果表明, 联吖叮氮氧自由基分子及其衍生物三重态为稳定基态, 符合自旋极化规则. 引入给吸电子取代基使自由基体系的极化率αs与二阶超极化率γs值有所增大, 且基团的给吸电子能力越强, αs和γs值增加越明显; 对于一阶超极化率βtot, 自由基体系处于单重态时, 取代基的影响较大. 所有自由基分子三重态的NLO系数都小于单重态, 表明可以通过控制体系的自旋多重度来调节体系的NLO性质.     

NLO properties of metallabenzene-based chromophores: a time-dependent density functional study

The static and dynamic first hyperpolarizabilities for a series of substituted metallabenzene-based nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores were determined by time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The electronic excitation contributions to the first hyperpolarizability are rationalized in terms of the two-level model. The effects on the hyperpolarizabilities of (a) the metal center (Os, Ir, Pt); (b) the ligand environment (PH3, CO, Cl); (c) various donor and acceptor substituents (NH2, OH, Me, H, Cl, Br, I, COOMe, COOH, CN, NO2); and (d) the length of pi-conjugation were studied. Our calculations predict that metallabenzenes have significant second-order NLO susceptibilities, ranging from = 1.0 x 10(-29) to 5.6 x 10(-28) esu and from mu = 3.0 x 10(-47) to 1.1 x 10(-44) esu, that can be tuned by changing the metal center and/or ligand environment.     

Role played by the organometallic fragment on the first hyperpolarizability of iron–acetylide complexes: A TD-DFT study

The static first hyperpolarizabilities (β) for a series of both substituted thiophene-acetylide ligands and the corresponding η⁵–monocyclopentadienyliron(II) complexes were determined by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The effect on the hyperpolarizabilities by various donor and acceptor substituents in the thiophene-acetylide ligands was studied. The nature and role of the electronic excitation contributions to the first hyperpolarizability, using time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations, are rationalized in terms of the two-level model. Our calculations show that the organometallic fragment can form a very effective push-pull system in combination with electron-withdrawing substituents in the thiophene-acetylide moiety, leading to enhanced static first hyperpolarizabilities. Also, an improvement of the magnitude of β is expected if solvation effects are taken into account.     

A sum-over-state scheme of analysis of hyperpolarizabilities and its application to spiroconjugated molecular system

The static first and second hyperpolarizabilities of a number of spiromolecules with varying degree of polarity have been calculated at the HF and MP2 level using the 6-31+G* basis set and the B3LYP/6-31+G* optimized geometry. The variation of mean second hyperpolarizability in these molecular systems has been explained in terms of the ground state dipole moment, mean linear polarizability and second-order polarizability. A number of relationships among these quantities have been derived in the framework of the sum-over-state scheme and the generalized Thomas–Kuhn sum rule. The spiroconjugation results in the significant increase of the mean polarizability. The appreciable enhancement of first hyperpolarizability due to the spiroconjugation between two dipolar monomer units has been accounted for the rather significant increase of the mean polarizability tensor and the ground state dipole moment. The relatively larger value of the average second hyperpolarizability of the spiroconjugated molecules compared to that of the corresponding monomers arises from the rather significant increase of the nonaxial component γ _xxyy . The replacement of spirocarbon by spirosilicon results in the enhancement of the cubic polarizability manifold. The donor–acceptor substituted spirocompounds are predicted to be the superior third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) phores. The nature of π-conjugation in the monomer units around the spirocenter shows a strong modulation of the NLO properties of spirocompounds. The influence of electron correlation on the NLO properties at the MP2 level has been found to be rather significant.     

Effect of bond‐length alternation on the dipole hyperpolarizability of phenol blue

Phenol blue is a merocyanine dye that may exist in resonance between two extreme forms, a neutral keto form and a zwitterionic, charge‐separated eno form. The keto form is stable in the gas phase, while the eno form can be stabilized by solvents. In this work, the bond‐length alternation is used to monitor the change of the dipole hyperpolarizability of phenol blue continuously from the extreme eno to the other extreme keto forms. Intermediate structures were found to give the largest value for the first dipole hyperpolarizability. These values are compatible with the experimental results in different solvents and suggest that phenol blue undergoes structural changes in polar solvents. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.; DOI 10.1002/qua.10120     

Theoretical investigation on redox-switchable second-order nonlinear optical responses of push-pull Cp*CoEt2C2B4H3-expanded (metallo)porphyrins

The second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the Cp*Co(C(2)H(5))(2)C(2)B(4)H(3)-expanded (metallo)porphyrins (Cp* = C(5)Me(5)) have been investigated by using ab inito RHF and density functional theory (DFT) methods. The investigation shows that the compound with expand porphyrin possesses remarkable large molecular hyperpolarizability β(tot) value, ~414.1 × 10(-30) esu (at LC-ωPBE level), and might be an excellent second-order NLO material. From the character of charge transfer (CT) transition, it indicates that the -Cp*Co(C(2)H(5))(2)C(2)B(4)H(3) acts as an electron donor in this kind of systems. As a result of the redox behavior on expanded (metallo)porphyrin, the redox switching character of the NLO responses for the systems 2a-4a has also been studied. The results show that the β(tot) values of reduced forms are larger than that of neutral ones. Furthermore, the time-dependent DFT calculation illustrates that reduced forms have a significant difference on the CT patterns versus neutral ones. The present investigation provides insight into the comparison with DFT results on estimating first hyperpolarizability and the NLO properties of the series of push-pull compounds.     

吩噻嗪侧环取代衍生物的二阶非线性光学性质的ZINDO-SOS研究

在ZINDO方法基础上,按完全态求和(SOS)公式编制了计算分子二阶非线性光学系数β_ijk、β_μ的程序,研究了各种吩噻嗪侧环取代衍生物的结构和二阶非线性光学性质,结论是侧环上推、拉电子取代基(不太弱)对增大二阶光学非线性都有利,扩大共轭范围也对增大二阶光学非线性有利,并对上述结果在微观上给予了解释。     

Second-order nonlinear optical coefficient of polyphosphazene-based materials: a theoretical study

The second-order nonlinear optical coefficient of polyphosphazene oligomers of increasing size has been determined by using ab initio methods taking into account electron correlation and frequency dispersion effects. The calculated first hyperpolarizability per unit cell converges rapidly with respect to chain length. It attains an amplitude of about one-third of the one of classical push-pull systems. This amplitude can be strongly increased by replacing the nitrogen of the backbone by silicon. The effects of the side groups (H, CH3, F, Cl, Br, and OH) on the first hyperpolarizability have been investigated as well. The different results have been rationalized in terms of alternations of bond lengths and atomic charges.     

含双呋喃共轭桥的有机非线性生色团的合成及性能

通过Wittig反应和Vilsmeier反应合成了一种以双呋喃为共轭桥, 2,2,3-三甲基-4-氰基-5-二氰基亚甲基-2,5-二氢呋喃(TCF)为受体, 并以二甲胺基为给体的有机非线性生色团分子MF₃C, 利用红外光谱、 ¹H NMR和元素分析对其结构进行了表征. 热重分析结果表明, 该分子的热分解温度达228℃; 利用溶致变色法对该生色团分子的二阶非线性品质参数μ_gβ进行了计算, 在1064 nm波长下MF₃C的μ_gβ值达到5.9×10^-44 esu. 可见, 该生色团兼具较好的热稳定性和较大的超极化率.     

Redox and photoisomerization switching of the second-order optical nonlinearity of a tetrathiafulvalene derivative of spiropyran across five states: a DFT study

Second-order nonlinear optical properties of a tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) derivative of spiropyran have been studied based on density functional theory (DFT) combined with the finite field (FF) calculations. Our DFT-FF calculations confirm a switching behavior of the static first hyperpolarizability caused by the redox and photochromic reaction. The photochromic reaction generates spiropyran-merocyanine conversion by reversible cleavage of the C-O bond, which is relative to the close- and open-ring forms 1-c and 1-o. The open-ring form 1-o displays the large static first hyperpolarizability relative to its close-ring form 1-c according to our DFT-FF calculations with three functionals. The electronic structure analysis and spin unrestricted calculations show that the redox processes significantly affect the geometrical structure of the TTF unit, and thus enhance the static first hyperpolarizabilities. The one-electron-oxidized species having good planar structure of the TTF unit are ~30 and ~200 times as large as that of the neutral compounds 1-c and 1-o, respectively. But the difference in the static first hyperpolarizability between one- and two-electron-oxidized states of spiropyran species is not substantial according to our DFT-FF calculations, and the spiropyran-merocyanine conversion of two-electron-oxidized species does not largely affect their static first hyperpolarizability. On the basis of the large change in the static first hyperpolarizability, our DFT-FF calculations support a five-state switching of the static first hyperpolarizability based on the redox and photoisomerization.     

Dipolar donor-acceptor-substituted schiff base complexes with large off-diagonal second-order nonlinear optical tensor components

The synthesis, characterization, and two-dimensional second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) response of a dipolar NiII donor- acceptor Schiff base complex and the related ligand are reported. Electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation and harmonic light (hyper-Rayleigh) scattering techniques, in combination with INDO/SCI-SOS theoretical calculations, were used to investigate the vector part of the hyperpolarizability tensor and the two-dimensional character of the molecular nonlinearity, respectively. Off-diagonal hyperpolarizability tensors can be related to charge-transfer transitions that are polarized perpendicular to the molecular dipolar axis, while parallel transitions account for the diagonal hyperpolarizability tensor. The role of the metal center in enhancing the two-dimensional NLO response of such molecules is twofold since it acts both as the donor and the bridging moiety of the planar donor-(pi-conjugate-bridge)-acceptor system. These dipolar two-dimensional molecules are interesting candidates from the perspective of polarization-independent NLO materials.     

5,12-二硫杂-7,14-二氮杂-5,7,12,14-四氢并五苯及其相关化合物二阶非线性光学性质的理论研究

在ZINDO方法基础上,按完全态求和(SOS)公式编制了计算分子二阶非线性光学系数β_ijk、β_u的程序.研究了不同取代基在5,12-二硫杂-7,14-二氮杂-5,7,12,14-四氢并五苯侧环取代衍生物及相关化合物的结构、光谱和二阶非线性光学性质。结果表明:侧环上取代推、拉电于基团对增大二阶光学非线性都有利;分子共平面,共轭作用强,对增大二阶光学非线性有利.     

Au的乙炔配合物非线性光学性质的量子化学计算

对过渡金属Au的有机配合物Ph3PAuC≡CR (R＝C6H4OCH3, Ph, C6H4NO2和PyNO2)的极化率和一阶、二阶超极化率进行了量子化学计算. 构型在B3LYP/CEP-121G水平优化. 用有效模型势方法和二阶多体微扰方法分别考虑了相对论效应和电子相关效应. 对基组进行了慎重的选择, 以ECP-HYPOL基组为对照标准, 在LFK基组基础上简化得到一个较小的基组LFK2. 计算结果与实测结果趋势一致.