Systematic study of the structure-property relationship of a series of near-infrared absorbing push-pull heptamethine chromophores for electro-optics

This study reports the facile synthesis,characterization and quantitative structure-property relationship analysis of molecular and material properties of tricyanofuran-based(TCF)dipolar heptamethines with different electron donors of indoline(F1),benzo[e]-indoline(F2),benz[cd]indoline(F3),and Michler’s base derivatives(Ml and M2).The linear and nonlinear optical(NLO)properties of these chromophores have been thoroughly investigated,and the relationship between molecular and bulk response has been analyzed and compared with dipolar tetraene AJLZ53 as one of the best chromophores for electro-optic(EO)devices.In particular,we provide responsible data collection and analysis of optical and EO properties for poled thin films using a widelyrecognized and accredited methodology of prism coupling system with the help of rigid oriented gas model.We found that these push-pull heptamethines with synthetic efficacy exhibit high near-infrared absorption,excellent chemical stability and large hyperpolarizabilities(β)varied from 1,023×10^-30 esu for F1,3,047×10^-30 esu for M1,and 3,547×10^-30 esu for F3 at 1,304 nm in poled films,respectively.Theβvalues of these molecules are among the highest ones for TCF-based dipolar chromophores,and also agree well with reported analytical results in the solutions.In poled polymers with a modest chromophoric loading density of1.3×10^20 cm^-3,Ml and M2 give a high poled-induced noncentrosymmetric order and relatively large r33 values around40 pm V^-1 at 1,304 nm,indicative of largeμβvalues and suitable structural modification for high poling efficiency.Furthermore,a binary EO polymer based on the co-loading of Ml and AJLZ53 achieve a large r33 value of 143.3 pm V^-1 at 1,304 nm.Our studies suggest that concise synthesis and molecular design of push-pull polymethines can be well guided by the tabulation of their linear and NLO properties in bulk materials,and streamline future development of high performance organic EO materials for photonic applications.     

High performance nonlinear optical chromophores

Both the linear and nonlinear optical properties of our newly designed high temperature electrooptic chromophores are discussed. In addition to the charge separated mechanism for the new chromophores, isomer effects are equally important in determining the optical properties of the new class.     

Synthesis,crystal structures,and third-order nonlinear optical properties of a series of ferrocenyl organometallics

Three novel ferrocenyl complexes [Zn(4-PFA)(2)(NO(3))(2)](H(2)O) (1), [Hg(2)(OAc)(4)(4-BPFA)(2)](CH(3)OH) (2), and [Cd(2)(OAc)(4)(4-BPFA)(2)] (3) (4-PFA = [(4-pyridylamino)carbonyl]ferrocene, 4-BPFA = 1,1'-bis[(4-pyridylamino)carbonyl]ferrocene) were prepared, and complexes 1 and 2 were structurally characterized by means of X-ray single-crystal diffraction. In complex 1, the zinc(II) atom is coordinated at a distorted tetrahedral environment by two nitrogen atoms from two 4-PFA moieties and two oxygen atoms from two nitrate anions; [Zn(4-PFA)(2)(NO(3))(2)] units are linked by hydrogen bonds N-H.O and O-H.O forming one-dimensional chains. Complex 2 is a tetranuclear macrocycle compound consisting of two 4-BPFA moieties and two Hg atoms; [Hg(2)(OAc)(4)(4-BPFA)(2)] units form 1-D chains by hydrogen bonds N-H.O as complex 1. Some complexes with 1,1'-bisubstituted pyridine-containing ferrocene ligands have been described, but their crystal data are limited. Compound 2 is the first example of a macrocyclic pyridine-containing ferrocenyl complex. The third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of 4-PFA, 4-BPFA, and complexes 1-3 were determined by Z-scan techniques. The results indicate that all the compounds exhibit strong self-focusing effect. The hyperpolarizability gamma values are calculated to be in the range 1.51 x 10(-)(28) to 3.12 x 10(-)(28) esu. The gamma values are nearly twice as large for complexes 1-3 as for their individual ligands, showing that the optical nonlinearity of the complexes is dominated by the ligands.     

新型双重电荷转移分子的二阶非线性光学性质的 理论研究

以INDO/SCI方法为基础,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~i~j~k和β~μ的程序。研究了1,2-二氨基-4,5-二硝基苯1和其异构体1,3-二氨基-4,6-二硝基苯2的电子光谱和二阶非线性光学性质。计算表明分子1具有与分子2几乎相等的二阶非线性极化率。但由于分子1的偶极矩明显大于分子2的,故分子1的μβ值比分子2的μβ值大的多。在此基础上,研究了2,3-二(β-苯乙烯基)-5,6-二氰基吡嗪和2,3-二(β-噻吩乙烯基)-5,6-二氰基吡嗪和2,3-二(β-噻吩乙烯基)-5,6二氰基吡嗪衍生物的电子光谱和二阶非线性光学性质。结果表明,这些化合物均具有两个相距很近的强吸收峰,它们对β值的呈加和模式。由于这类化合物特征吸收峰均位于413nm以下且具有大的μβ值,所以,它们是一类很有前途的二阶非线性光学候选材料。     

Azo-azulene derivatives as second-order nonlinear optical chromophores

The molecular and solid state nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of several (phenylazo)-azulenes are investigated. In particular, (4-nitrophenylazo)-azulene (2b) exhibits a quadratic hyperpolarizability (beta(vec)) of 80 x 10(-30) cm5esu recorded at 1.907 microm by the electric field-induced second-harmonic (EFISH) technique. This molecular material, which crystallizes in the monoclinic noncentrosymmetric space group Pc, exhibits an efficiency 420 times that of urea in second-harmonic generation. The origin of the optical nonlinearity in azo-azulene is discussed in relation with crystal structures and semiempirical calculations within the INDO/SOS formalism, and compared with that of the well known disperse red one (DR1) organic dye.     

Some ferrocenyl Schiff bases with nonlinear optical properties

Eleven new ferrocenyl Schiff bases containing a benzene ring and C?N in a conjugating chain have been synthesized by facile methods and characterized by ¹H NMR, elemental analysis and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Cyclic voltammetry was used to determine their electrochemical properties and electron‐withdrawing effects. It is shown that these pull–push ferrocenyl compounds have nonlinear optical responses according to their electronic absorption spectra and powder second harmonic generation measurements. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Antiparallel-aligned neutral-ground-state and zwitterionic chromophores as a nonlinear optical material

Efficient noncentrosymmetric arrangement of nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores with high first-order hyperpolarizability (beta) for increased electro-optical (EO) efficiency has proven challenging as strong dipolar interactions between the chromophores encourage antiparallel alignment, attenuating the macroscopic EO effect. This work explores a novel approach to simultaneously achieve large beta values while providing an adjustable dipole moment by linking a strong neutral-ground-state (NGS) NLO chromophore with positive beta to a zwitterionic (ZWI) chromophore with negative beta in an antiparallel fashion. It is proposed that the overall beta of such a structure will be the sum of the absolute values of the two types of chromophores while the dipole moment will be the difference. Molecules 1-3 were synthesized to test the feasibility of this approach. Molecular dynamics calculations and NMR data supported that the NGS chromophore component and the ZWI chromophore component self-assemble to an antiparallel conformation in chloroform. Calculations showed that the dipole moment of 1 is close to the difference of the two component chromophores. Hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) studies confirmed that the first hyperpolarizability of 1 is close to the sum of the two component chromophores. These results support the idea that an antiparallel-aligned neutral-ground-state chromophore and a zwitterionic chromophore can simultaneously achieve an increase in beta and a decrease of the dipole moment.     

Vibrational and quantum-chemical study of nonlinear optical chromophores containing dithienothiophene as the electron relay

A series of nonlinear optical (NLO) donor-acceptor (D-A) chromophores containing a fused terthiophene, namely dithienothiophene (DTT), as the electron relay, the same donor group, and acceptors of various strengths, has been investigated by means of infrared and Raman spectroscopies, both in the solid state as well as in a variety of solvents, to evaluate the effectiveness of the intramolecular charge transfer from the electron-donor to the electron-acceptor end groups. The Raman spectral profiles of these NLO-phores measured from their dilute solutions have been found to be rather similar to those of the corresponding solids, and thus their intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) shows very little dependence on the solvent polarity. The experimental results obtained for the DTT-containing NLO-phore with a 4-(N,N-dibutylamino)styryl end group as the donor and a 2,2-dicyanoethen-1-yl end group as the acceptor differ from those previously obtained for two parent "push-pull" chromophores with the same D-A pair but built-up around either a bis(3,4-ethylenedioxythienyl) (BEDOT) or a bithienyl (BT) electron relay. Vibrational spectroscopy shows that DTT is significantly more efficient as an electron relay than BT (which has the same number of conjugated C=C bonds) or BEDOT (which can be viewed as a rigidified version of BT on account of noncovalent intramolecular interactions between heteroatoms of adjacent rings). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have also been performed on these NLO-phores to assign their main electronic and vibrational features and to obtain information about their structures. An additional merit of these molecular materials was revealed by the infrared spectra of the DTT-based NLO-phores recorded at different temperatures. Thus, spectra recorded between -170 and 150 degrees C did not show any substantial change, indicating that the materials have a high thermal stability, which is of significance for their use as active components in optoelectronic devices.     

Evaluation of the thermal stability of some nonlinear optical chromophores

Optical data storage is poised to benefit from a new class of advanced polymeric materials engineered to exhibit photorefractivity. Likewise, the transmission and processing of data will also benefit from a related class of materials with electro-optic activity. Organic chromophores are critical constituents of these materials which function due to a change of index of refraction in response to an electric field. However, a number of materials and processing problems remain to be solved before devices incorporating these optically nonlinear chromophores are practical. For example, for electrooptical applications the NLO waveguide should be able to withstand short duration processing temperatures in excess of 300°C and long duration use temperatures of at least 80°C. The requirement for thermochemical stability follows from the need to implement highT _g matrices to provide stability of the orientational or polar order required for long-term device performance and reliability. As a result, the thermal stability of chromophores is now more closely evaluated in addition to their transparency and optical nonlinearity properties. Some chromophore classes, such as the azo dyes studied here, have attractive properties for these applications but further enhancements in overall properties are needed. Identification of the fundamental chemical processes in thermal decomposition of these dyes should lead to introduction of structural changes which provide better stability. Here thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with mass spectrometry (TGA/MS) is used to provide an assay of thermochemical stability with an added benefit that insight into the mechanisms of thermal decomposition may by identified. In this initial study diaryl substitution of the amine in derivatives of 4-amino-4-nitroazobenzene was observed to greatly enhance thermal stability relative to dialkyl substitution. Substitution of phenyl for alkyl eliminates structural features involved in the most facile degradation mechanism available to the alkyl derivative.Dedicated to Professor Bernhard Wunderlich on the occasion of his 65th birthdayThe authors acknowledge contributions by colleagues at IBM including H. Truong and R. Siemens for the thermal analysis. This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Institute of Science and Technology Advanced Technology Program.     

Octupolar merocyanine dyes: a new class of nonlinear optical chromophores

A set of new octupolar merocyanine chromophores was designed and synthesized. These compounds were prepared from the reaction of 1,3,5-triformyl-2,4,6-trihydroxybenzene with heterocyclic nucleophiles. Octupolar dyes were formed exclusively in their open-dye form. The one- and two-photon-absorption spectra of the dyes consist of two bands: The long-wavelength band in the two-photon absorption spectrum (a few hundreds GM above 1000?nm) matches well with the intense, long-wavelength-absorption band that is located in the visible region in the linear spectrum. Interestingly, an additional, much-more-intense TPA band in the NIR region is observed at higher energy, which corresponds to a weakly allowed one-photon electronic transition. Changing the peripheral heterocyclic moieties allows tuning of the optical properties to approach the cyanine limit (i.e., polymethine state), thus resulting in a red-shift of the low-energy one-photon-absorption band as well as to the rise of an intense two-photon-absorption band in the NIR region. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first synthesis and TPA characterization of octupolar merocyanine chromophores with typical low-bond-length alternation.     

Three-dimensional nonlinear optical chromophores based on through-space delocalization

Six permutations of 4-fold donor and/or acceptor substitution of paracyclophane at the 4, 7, 12, and 15 positions were synthesized to probe the phenomenon of three-dimensional delocalization on the nonlinear optical properties of organic materials. The interplay between through-bond intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) as well as three-dimensional, or through-space, ICT processes gives rise to large quadratic hyperpolarizability values. The determination of dipolar (beta(J)(=1)) and octupolar (beta(J)(=3)) irreducible tensor contributions to the overall beta tensor value is made possible by the polarized harmonic light scattering technique at 1.32 microm. The electric field-induced second-harmonic generation technique was also used at 1.91 microm for comparison. Significant experimental beta values for members of the series made of two centrosymmetric benzene-like units are a clear signature of a purely through-space ICT between two aryl subunits. The two configurational isomers that pair two dipolar donor-acceptor chromophores also exhibit octupolar character. Analysis of these two with an additive model for beta(J)(=1) and beta(J)(=3) reveals a strong three-dimensional inter-ring charge transfer.     

Heterocycle-based isomeric chromophores with substantially varying NLO properties: a new structure-property correlation study

A number of heterocycle-based aromatic and quinonoid molecular systems have been considered for the theoretical study of their electric response properties. The nonlinear optical (NLO) parameters have been calculated by using the ab initio MO and DFT methods. An approximate scheme for calculating the first hyperpolarizability (beta) and second hyperpolarizability (gamma) in the framework of the sum-over-state (SOS) method have been proposed by exploiting the generalized Thomas-Kuhn sum rule (TK-SR). The NLO properties in the present scheme can be evaluated solely from the ground-state dipole moment (mu) and linear polarizability (alpha) and have been found to correlate fairly with the ab initio calculated values. The approximate scheme can be reasonably used to explain the wider range of variation of higher-order polarizabilities in terms of the above quantities. The position of the N atom in the thiazole ring at the ortho position (versus meta position) to the acceptor increases beta and decreases gamma for aromatic compounds, while the reverse trend is found with quinonoid compounds. In the case of the pyridine ring, the shifting of the N atom toward the acceptor enhances gamma, with insignificant variation of beta predicted for both the aromatic and quinonoid molecules. The negative contribution of the cubic polarizability of the quinonoid species increases linearly with alpha(2)/mean transition energy (Delta E).     

Influence of thiazole regioisomerism on second-order nonlinear optical chromophores

Two series of matched and mismatched donor–thiazole–acceptor chromophores have been synthesized to disclose the role that the orientation of the thiazole ring plays on their second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. Whereas previous theoretical studies predict that the matched systems show markedly higher NLO responses, our experimental results do not parallel this trend, showing differences between regioisomers much lower than those predicted.     

Tunable resonance hyper-Raman spectroscopy of second-order nonlinear optical chromophores

Two-photon-resonant hyper-Raman spectra are reported for three "push-pull" conjugated organic chromophores bearing -NO(2) acceptor groups, two dipolar and one octupolar. The excitation source is an unamplified picosecond mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser tunable from 720 to 950 nm. The linear resonance Raman spectra of the same molecules are measured using excitation from the laser second harmonic. Excitation on resonance with the lowest-lying band in the linear absorption spectrum yields nearly identical resonance Raman and resonance hyper-Raman spectra. However, excitation into a region that appears to contain more than one electronic transition gives rise to different intensity patterns in the linear and nonlinear spectra, indicating that different transitions contribute differently to the one-photon and two-photon oscillator strength. The promise of the hyper-Raman technique for examining electronic transitions that are both one- and two-photon allowed is discussed.     

Preparation of polymer optical fibers doped with nonlinear optical active organic chromophores

We synthesized two novel organic nonlinear optical chromophores—chiral S(+)‐N‐[p‐(4‐nitrostyryl) phenyl] prolinol and non‐chiral [p‐(4‐nitrostyryl) phenyl] piperdine—as potential laser‐active dyes for photonic applications. Both materials show good optical transmittance in the telecommunication frequency region, desirable solubility in acrylic polymer optical fiber matrices, and attractive fluorescence properties that are advantageous for laser‐gain materials and devices. Subsequently, these two chromophores were incorporated into poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(ethyl methacrylate) and drawn into polymer optical fibers. The relevant properties of these organic dye‐doped fibers have been studied, revealing essential attributes of laser‐active characteristics. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 1794–1801, 2001     

Enhanced poling efficiency in rigid-flexible dendritic nonlinear optical chromophores

Naringenin is a flavonoid specific to citrus fruits and possesses anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, and antitumour effects. But due to a lower half-life and rapid clearance from the body, frequent administration of the molecule is required. To improve the bioavailability and prolong its duration in body system, its phospholipid complexes were prepared by a simple and reproducible method. Naringenin was complexed with phosphatidylcholine in equimolar ratio, in presence of dichloromethane. The prepared Phytosomes (naringenin–phospholipid complex) were evaluated for various physical parameters like FT-IR spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), X-ray powder diffractometry (XRPD), Solubility, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the in vitro drug release study. These phospholipid complexes of naringenin were found to be irregular and disc shaped with rough surface in SEM. Drug content was found to be 91.7% (w/w). FTIR, ¹H NMR, DSC and XRPD data confirmed the formation of phospholipid complex. Water solubility of naringenin improved from 43.83 to 79.31 μg/mL in the prepared complex. Unlike the free naringenin (which showed a total of only 27% drug release at the end of 10 h), naringenin complex showed 99.80% release at the end of 10 h of dissolution study. Thus it can be concluded that the phospholipid complex of naringenin may be of potential use for improving bioavailability.     

Photorefractive polymer composites based on nanosized nonlinear optical chromophores

Photorefractive (PR) polymer composites based on polymers with a high glass transition temperature in which the random distribution of a photosensitizer and a nonlinear optical chromophore as dopants is “frozen” were designed. In the case of the random distribution of chromophores, only the third-order electric susceptibility has a nonzero value. Therefore, nanosized structures having high third-order polarizability due to an extended conjugated-bond system (or cooperative electronic excitation) were used as nonlinear chromophores. Good PR characteristics are displayed by polymeric composites containing nanosized structures, such as cyanine dye J aggregates, supramolecular assemblies of ruthenium(II) complexes, and single-wall carbon nanotubes. The use of extended nanosized chromophores as simultaneous spectral sensitizers allowed polymer composites with PR sensitivity in the near IR region at 1064 and 1550 nm to be designed.     

Hyper-Rayleigh scattering measurements of nonlinear optical chromophores at 1907 nm

Hyper-Rayleigh scattering measurements are performed on nonlinear optical chromophores using an excitation wavelength of 1907 nm. This wavelength is the longest that has yet been reported for the hyper-Rayleigh scattering experiment and allows measurements of the first hyperpolarizability of chromophores that are free of contributions from two-photon absorption induced fluorescence and reduces one and two photon resonance enhancement to a minimum. Using the 1907 nm setup we demonstrate good agreement between our results and those obtained with the electric field induced second harmonic generation (EFISHG) technique previously performed at this wavelength.     

Theoretical study of the structure-property relationship in phosphole monomers

Use of the DFT method with the B3LYP functional offers an efficient way for determining geometries of phosphole structures. It also provides inversion barriers in good agreement with experiment. The molecular orbital MP2 method is better suited to calculate the relative stability of the considered isomers. Combination of geometric (Julg index) and magnetic (NICS) criteria leads to an interesting approach to analyze the pi-electron delocalization and/or aromaticity in conjugated heterocyclic systems and can be used for investigation of much larger oligomers. It thus allows us to confirm that planarizing the phosphorus atom in phosphole monomers leads to a greater conjugation over the butadienic pi-system and that substituents, characterized by a strongly pronounced pi-system, exhibit a large extent of conjugation with the pi-diene moiety of the heterocyclic system. In push-pull systems such as 2-BH2-5-NH2-1H-phosphole, the electron delocalization along the pi-diene system is even more pronounced than in phospholes with strongly pronounced pi-systems. The employed approach is also used to analyze the relationship between electron conjugation and the phosphorus inversion barrier. More relevant for chemical applications is the result that the computational study provides a method of fine-tuning of phosphole building blocks, which may enable us to obtain higher pi-conjugation along the polymer backbone.