Theoretical studies on NLO properties of push-pull multi-cycle electro-optical polymer intermediates including thiophene ring

The second-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities βijk,βμ and third-order non-linear optical susceptibilities γijkl,<γ> of a series of the novel push-pull multi-ring electro-photo polymer intermediates have been calculated.The influences of molecular structure,donor,acceptor and the frequency of external field on P and v,and the relationship between V and the number of thiophene rings(i.e.conjugated chain length)have been studied using UNDO/SCI methods combined with sum-overstate(SOS)formula.The calculated results show that γ is proportional to 2.69 power of the chain length of the conjugated molecular bonds when the length is not quite long.     

Theoretical Study on Second‐order Nonlinear Optical Properties of Substituted Thiazole Derivatives

On the basis of ZINDO program, we have designed a program to calculate the nonlinear second‐order polarizability β_yk and β_μ according to the SOS expression. The second‐order nonlinear optical properties of 4‐nitro‐4′‐dimethylamino‐stilbene and a series of its thiazole derivatives were studied. The calculated results were that: When replacing a benzene ring in 4‐nitro‐4′‐dimethylamino‐stilbene by a thiazole ring, the influence on β values depends on the position of thiazole ring. When the thiazole ring connects with nitro group (acceptor), the β values increase significantly compared with corresponding stilbene derivatives. The β values of 2‐(p‐donor‐β‐styryl)‐5‐nitro‐thiazole derivatives (2–7) are larger than those of 2‐(p‐nitro‐β‐styryl)‐5‐donor‐thiazole derivatives (8–13) and 2‐(p‐donor‐phenyl)‐azo‐5‐nitro‐thiazole derivatives (14–19). The 2‐(p‐donor‐β‐styryl)‐5‐nitro‐thiazole derivatives (2–7) are good candidates as chromophores duo to their high nonlinearities and potential good thermal stability.     

Novel Ferrocene-Appended β-Ketoimines and Related BF2 Derivatives with Significant Aggregation-Induced Emission and Second-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties

A series of new β-ketoimines containing a ferrocene moiety and their BF₂ complexes have been synthesized and structurally characterized. The solvatochromism of the β-ketoimines was studied, putting in evidence a redshift with increasing solvent polarity. This positive solvatochromism can be attributed to a more polarized excited state compared with the ground state, due to intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) transitions. The β-ketoimines exhibited weak emission, attributable to the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) phenomenon. This ESIPT effect is suppressed upon restriction of the keto-enamine tautomerism, induced upon addition of BF₃ ⋅ OEt₂, which afforded the related BF₂ complexes, characterized by an enhancement of the fluorescence through the ICT effect. Both the β-ketoimines and BF₂ complexes exhibited significant aggregation-induced emission behavior in mixtures of CH₃CN/H₂O, due to restriction of intramolecular rotation in the aggregated state. The frontier molecular orbital levels, ground- and excited-state dipole moments (μ_g and μ_e), and the origin of electronic absorption spectra were studied by time-dependent DFT calculations. The second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties were determined by the electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation technique. The μβ₁₉₀₇ values of the β-ketoimines increased upon the formation of the related BF₂ complexes, mainly due to an enhancement of the ground-state dipole moment. The results presented here reveal that some of these novel compounds are excellent multifunctional candidates for NLO and luminescence applications.     

Z-scan analysis and ab initio studies of β-BaTeMo2O9 single crystal

The Z-scan measurements for the non-centrosymmetric optical crystals β-BaTeMo₂O₉ (BTMO) were performed. The corresponding experiments were carried out using the 5 ns pulses of the second harmonic of a nanosecond Nd:YAG laser at the 532 nm wavelength. It was shown that the studied crystals possess promising third-order optical susceptibilities, which allow to use the crystal as optical limiters. The comparison with other oxide materials is presented. To clarify the origin of the observed effect, the electronic and optical properties of BTMO were calculated using the density functional theory (DFT)-based method. The performed calculations of the electronic and optical properties revealed certain peculiar features that can be suitable for the nonlinear optical applications. The relation between the observed nonlinear optical features and the calculated band structure is emphasized. The values of the calculated band gap and refractive index for β-BaTeMo₂O₉ are also reported.     

Theoretical Studies on Electronic Spectra and Second-order Nonlinear Optical Properties of Glucosyl Substituted Barbituric Acid Derivatives

AMI semi-empirical method was used to optimize the barbituric acid derivatives substituted with glucosyl B1-5 （series B）, and the thiobarbituric acid derivatives substituted with glucosyl T1-5 （series T）. Based on the optimized structures, INDO/CI method was adopted to calculate the electronic spectra. Meanwhile, the second-order nonlinear optical （NLO） coefficients βμ were calculated with the sum-over-state （SOS） formula. The results show that when the number of glucosyl units was increased, ｜βμ｜ values of the barbituric and thiobarbituric acid derivatives were both enhanced, especially for thiobarbituric acid derivatives. It indicates that non-conjugated substituted group could also improve NLO properties of materials when the number of repeated units was increased. Additionally, the absorption bands appearing in UV area are consistent with the proper change of the number of glucosyl units, and consequently it can be concluded that the high transparencies of all systems were scarcely varied.     

Structural,electrical and optical properties of Lin@C20 (n = 1–6) nanoclusters

The current research was undertaken to investigate the structural, electrical, and optical properties of C₂₀ fullerene decorated with different numbers of lithium (Li) atoms on its surface. The stability of the structure increased as the number of lithium atoms increased. Increasing the number of lithium atoms around C₂₀ from one to four slightly increased the E_g (energy gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital). Increasing the number to five or six narrowed the E_g. The electrical properties such as ionization potential (I), electron affinity (A), chemical potential (μ), global hardness (η), global softness (γ), global electrophilicity (ω), and electronegativity (χ) were also calculated. The polarizability (α) and first hyperpolarizability (β₀), which correspond to the linear optical and nonlinear optical properties, respectively, were also calculated. An intense increase in β₀ was recorded as the effect of five Li atoms adsorbed onto the C₂₀ surface. The results of this study can be used to design and fabricate nanomaterials with adjustable electro-optical properties.     

Calculations on the Nonlinear Second—Order Optical Polarizabilities for Series of Donor—C60 Molecules

IntroductionThebulkpreparation1ofC6 0 andC70 clusters(fullerenes)hasstimulatedawidevarietyofexperimentalandtheoreticalstudies .2 5Wehavesuccessfullyexaminedthestructures ,UV visiblespectraandthenonlinearthird orderopticalpolarizabilities (γ)ofC6 0 andC70 .6 ,7Byin troductionofsubstituents ,thecentrosymmetriesofC6 0 andC70 arebrokenandthesecond orderopticalnonlinearitiesareinduced .ThechargeseparationinsubstitutedC6 0whichleadstoenhancementofβvaluehasalsobeendis cussed .5Inrecentyears ,a…     

Synthesis,structure and photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes of a copper(II) metal–organic framework (Cu–MOF) with a 4‐coordinated three‐dimensional CdSO4 topology

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted much interest in the fields of gas separation and storage, catalysis synthesis, nonlinear optics, sensors, luminescence, magnetism, photocatalysis gradation and crystal engineering because of their diverse properties and intriguing topologies. A Cu–MOF, namely poly[[(μ₂‐succinato‐κ²O:O′){μ₂‐tris[4‐(1,2,4‐triazol‐1‐yl)phenyl]amine‐κ²N:N′}copper(II)] dihydrate], {[Cu(C₄H₄O₄)(C₂₄H₁₈N₁₀)]·2H₂O}_n or {[Cu(suc)(ttpa)]·2H₂O}_n, (I), was synthesized by the hydrothermal method using tris[4‐(1,2,4‐triazol‐1‐yl)phenyl]amine (ttpa) and succinate (suc^2?), and characterized by IR, powder X‐ray diffraction (PXRD), luminescence, optical band gap and valence band X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (VB XPS). Cu–MOF (I) shows a twofold interpenetrating 4‐coordinated three‐dimensional CdSO₄ topology with point symbol {6⁵·8}. It presents good photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) under visible‐light irradiation. A photocatalytic mechanism was proposed and confirmed.     

Preparation and property of two soluble oxadiazole‐containing functional polyacetylenes

Two novel high‐molecular weight functional polyacetylenes (PA) bearing oxadiazole group as a pendant, poly(2‐(4‐octoxyphenyl)‐5‐(4‐ethynylphenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole) ( P1 ) and poly(2‐(4′‐octoxyphenyl)‐5‐(4′‐propynyloxyphenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole) ( P2 ) were synthesized by [Rh(nbd)Cl]₂‐Et₃N catalysts. Both polymers were soluble in common organic solvents such as CHCl₃ and tetrahydrofuran. Their structures and properties were characterized and evaluated with FTIR, NMR, UV, thermogravimetric analysis, GPC, optical‐limiting and nonlinear optical analyses, respectively. The results show that linkage of oxadiazole chromophore to PA main chain has improved the nonlinear optical (NLO) property of PA, and endowed PA with novel optical limiting properties and enhanced thermal stability. Simultaneously, the optical‐limiting and NLO properties of the polymers were sensitive to their molecular structures. P1 with oxadiazole directly incorporated into PA main chain as a pendant showed better performances and larger third‐order nonlinear optical susceptibility than P2 with oxadiazole incorporated into PA main chain via a spacer. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 2072–2083, 2008     

DFT study on the second‐order nonlinear optical property of 12‐vertex close‐carborane derivatives

Density functional theory (DFT) BHandHLYP method based on the 6‐31G(d) level was employed to optimize the structures of 12‐vertex substituted carboranes. The finite field (FF) method was adopted to study their second‐order nonlinear optical coefficients. Moreover, the electron spectra of systems were analyzed. The results show carboranes with alkali‐metal substituted have considerably large first hyperpolarizability (β_tot) values which is 2–3 order of magnitude larger than that of unsubstituted carborane (14.5 a.u). For halogen and organic group substituted systems, however, the β_tot values are only enhanced by one order of magnitude. The β values of carboranes obviously enhance after alkali‐metal substitution. This study may evoke the possibility to explore a new thriving area, i.e., alkali‐metal substituted carboranes for NLO application. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Studies on Properties of p—Nitrophenylazo Calix[4]arene Derivatives

The p-nitrophenylazo calix[4] arene derivatives la-ld with nonlinear optical(NLO)properties were prepared by the diazo-coupling reaction of calix[4]arene with p-nitrophenyl diazonium.The diazotization reaction of p-nltroaniline was caried out with isoamyl nitrite as a source of nitrous acid in EtONa/EtOH under refluxing conditon.X-Ray crystallographic analysis and ^1H NMR sptectra reveal that they exist as cone conformation in crystal state or in soution.HRS measurements at 1064 nm in THF indicate that p-nitrophenylazo calix[4]arenes have higher hyperpolarizability βz values than the corresponding reference compound 4-(4-nitrophenylazo)-2,6-dimethyl-phenol,without red shift of the charge transfer band.The tetrakis p-nitropheylazo calix[4]arene(2)with longer alkyl chains can form monolayer aht the air/water interface.     

Nonlinear Optical Switching in Regioregular Porphyrin Covalent Organic Frameworks

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have garnered immense scientific interest among porous materials because of their structural tunability and diverse properties. However, the response of such materials toward laser‐induced nonlinear optical (NLO) applications is hardly understood and demands prompt attention. Three novel regioregular porphyrin (Por)‐based porous COFs—Por‐COF‐HH and its dual metalated congeners Por‐COF‐ZnCu and Por‐COF‐ZnNi—have been prepared and present excellent NLO properties. Notably, intensity‐dependent NLO switching behavior was observed for these Por‐COFs, which is highly desirable for optical switching and optical limiting devices. Moreover, the efficient π‐conjugation and charge‐transfer transition in ZnCu‐Por‐COF enabled a high nonlinear absorption coefficient (β=4470 cm/GW) and figure of merit (FOM=σ₁/σ_o, 3565) value compared to other state‐of‐the‐art materials, including molecular porphyrins (β≈100–400 cm/GW), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs; β≈0.3–0.5 cm/GW), and graphene (β=900 cm/GW).     

Stilbene‐containing polyactylenes: Molecular design,synthesis, and relationship between molecular structure and NLO properties

Polyacetylenes ( P1–P4 ) containing different stilbene groups, ? [(CH?C) ? Ph? CH?CH? Ph? R]_n? (R?OC_mH_2m+1 (m = 4 ( P1 ), 10 ( P2 ), 16 ( P3 )), or NO₂ ( P4 )) were designed and synthesized, respectively, using [Rh(nbd)Cl]₂ as a catalyst. Their structures and properties were characterized and evaluated by FTIR, ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, GPC, and UV, PL, respectively. The optical limiting and nonlinear optical properties were investigated by using a frequency doubled, Q‐switched, mode‐locked Continuum ns/ps Nd:YAG laser system and their optical limiting mechanism was discussed. It is surprising to see that the stilbene pendants endow the polyacetylenes with a high thermal stability (T_d ≥ 270 °C), novel optical limiting properties and large third‐order nonlinear optical susceptibilities (up to 4.61 × 10^?10 esu). The optical limiting mechanism is mainly originated from reverse saturable absorption of molecules. In addition, it is found that the polymer with electron accepted NO₂ moiety exhibits better optical properties than that with electron donated alkoxy group because of larger π electron delocalization and dipolar effect. The strong interaction between stilbene pendants and the polyene main chain significantly results in red‐shift of fluorescence emitting peak. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4529–4541, 2008     

Optical‐limiting and nonlinear optical polyacetylenes: Synthesis of azobenzene‐containing poly(1‐alkyne)s with different spacer and tail lengths

Poly(1‐alkyne)s containing azobenzene pendant groups with different lengths of the spacer and terminal alkyloxy group {? [HC?C(CH₂)_mOCO? C₆H₄? N?N? C₆H₄? OC_pH_2p+1]_n? , where m = 1, 2, 3, or 9 and p = 4, 7, or 12} were synthesized in satisfactory yields with the [Rh(nbd)Cl]₂–Et₃N catalyst. All the polymers were soluble in common organic solvents such as CHCl₃ and tetrahydrofuran. Their structures and properties were characterized and evaluated with IR, NMR, thermogravimetric analysis, UV, and optical‐limiting and nonlinear optical analyses. All the polymers were thermally stable and decomposed at temperatures as high as ～300 °C. The optical‐limiting and nonlinear optical properties of the polymers were sensitive to their molecular structures. Polymers having shorter spacer lengths and longer terminal groups showed better performances and larger third‐order nonlinear optical susceptibility (up to 1.34 × 10^?10 esu). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2346–2357, 2006     

Covalent Modification of MoS2 with Poly(N‐vinylcarbazole) for Solid‐State Broadband Optical Limiters

New soluble MoS₂ nanosheets covalently functionalized with poly(N‐vinylcarbazole) (MoS₂–PVK) were in situ synthesized for the first time. In contrast to MoS₂ and MoS₂/PVK blends, both the solution of MoS₂–PVK in DMF and MoS₂–PVK/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film show superior nonlinear optical and optical limiting responses. The MoS₂–PVK/PMMA film shows the largest nonlinear coefficients (β_eff) of about 917 cm GW^?1 at λ=532 nm (cf. 100.69 cm GW^?1 for MoS₂/PMMA and 125.12 cm GW^?1 for MoS₂/PVK/PMMA) and about 461 cm GW^?1 at λ=1064 nm (cf. ?48.92 cm GW^?1 for MoS₂/PMMA and 147.56 cm GW^?1 for MoS₂/PVK/PMMA). A larger optical limiting effect, with thresholds of about 0.3 GW cm^?2 at λ=532 nm and about 0.5 GW cm^?2 at λ=1064 nm, was also achieved from the MoS₂–PVK/PMMA film. These values are among the highest reported for MoS₂‐based nonlinear optical materials. These results show that covalent functionalization of MoS₂ with polymers is an effective way to improve nonlinear optical responses for efficient optical limiting devices.     

Octupolar Derivatives Functionalized with Superacceptor Peripheral Groups: Synthesis and Evaluation of the Electron‐Withdrawing Ability of Potent Unusual Groups

Novel tripodal derivatives with a triphenylamine core and that bear “superacidifiers” (i.e., fluorinated sulfoximinyl blocks) or novel sulfiliminyl moieties as peripheral groups were synthesized. These new chromophores show strong absorption in the near‐UV region and emission in the visible region. The fluorinated sulfoximinyl moieties were found to behave as potent auxochromic and electron‐withdrawing (EW) groups, thus leading to redshifted absorption and emission. These moieties promote a core‐to‐periphery intramolecular charge transfer (ctp‐ICT) transition, the energy of which was found to be correlated to their EW strength. In this study, we provide evidence of a linear correlation between the Hammett constant (σ_p) values and the electronic gap between the ground and first excited state of the three‐branched derivatives. This in turn was used to derive σ_p values of fluorinated sulfoximinyl moieties. These EWGs show unprecedentedly high σ_p values, up to 1.45 relative to 0.8 for NO₂. Also, by using this method, the sulfiliminyl moiety was shown to exhibit similar EW strength as NO₂, while promoting improved transparency and solubility. Finally, the superior EW strength of the fluorinated sulfoximine peripheral moieties was shown to induce significant enhancement of the two‐photon absorption responses in the red near‐IR region of the three‐branched derivatives relative to similar octupoles that bear more usual strong EW groups. These characteristics (improved nonlinear responses or transparency) open new routes for the design of nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores for optical limiting or electro‐optical modulation. Such building blocks could also be of interest for optoelectronic applications, including the development of solar cells.     

Nonlinear optical side‐chain polymers post‐functionalized with high‐β chromophores exhibiting large electro‐optic property

Electro‐optic side‐chain polymers have been synthesized by the post‐functionalization of methacrylate isocyanate polymers with novel phenyl vinylene thiophene vinylene bridge (FTC) nonlinear optical chromophores. For this application, FTC‐based chromophores were modified in their electronic donor structure, exhibiting much larger molecular hyperpolarizabilities compared with the benchmark FTC. Of these new chromophores, absorption spectra, hyper‐Rayleigh scattering experiment, and thermal analysis were carried out to confirm availability as effective nonlinear optical units for electro‐optic side‐chain polymers. The electro‐optic coefficients (r₃₃) of obtained polymers were investigated in the process of in situ poling by monitoring the temperature, current flow, poling field, and electro‐optic signal. Compared with the nonsubstituted analogue, benxyloxy modified FTC chromophore significantly achieved higher nonlinear optical property, exhibiting molecular hyperpolarizability at 1.9 μm of 4600 × 10^?30 esu and an r₃₃ value of 150 pm/V at the wavelength of 1.31 μm. Synthesized electro‐optic polymers showed high glass transition temperature (T_g), so that the temporal stability examination exhibited >78% of the electro‐optic intensity remaining at 85 °C over 500 h. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

Tailored Synthesis of a Nonlinear Optical Phosphate with a Short Absorption Edge

A nonlinear optical phosphate Ba₅P₆O₂₀ was rationally developed by a tailored synthetic approach based on the use of flexible [P₃O₁₀]^5? units. The phosphate exhibits a very short absorption edge of λ=167 nm, which is among the shortest known in phase‐matchable phosphates. First‐principles electronic structure analysis elucidated the origin of the changes in the optical properties, and specifically in the absorption edge, of the material. Such a tailored synthetic approach provides a new opportunity to design nonlinear optical materials with short absorption edges.