Synthesis and properties of a second‐order nonlinear optical side‐chain polyimide

A thermal stable aromatic polyimide (PI) with side‐chain second‐order nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores has been developed. The PI was prepared by the ring‐opening polyaddition of 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride with a new diamine having two N‐ethyl‐N‐[4‐[(6‐chlorobenzothiazol‐2‐yl)diazenyl]phenyl]‐2‐aminoethanol units as the NLO chromophore, followed by poling during or after the thermal imidization process. The resulting PI had number and weight‐average molecular weights (M_n, M_w) of 25,000 and 80,000, respectively, and a relatively high glass transition temperature of 180°C. The second harmonic coefficient (d₃₃) of PI at the wavelength of 1.064 μm was 138 pm/V (329.6 × 10⁻⁹ esu) and remained unchanged at elevated temperatures. The corona poling process of the NLO‐substituted poly(amic acid) to the PI was also studied in detail by measuring the second harmonic generation (SHG) from the polymer films. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 1321–1329, 1999     

Synthesis and characterization of interpenetrating polymer networks with nonlinear optical properties

We report the synthesis and characterization of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) exhibiting nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. The network consists of aliphatic polycarbonate urethane (PCU) and poly(methyl methacrylate-co-N,N-disubstituted urea), with a nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophore incorporated into N,N-disubstituted urea. The full IPNs have only one T_g, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), together with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, suggest a single phase morphology. The thin films of IPNs are transparent and the unpoled samples produced second harmonic generation (SHG) signals at room temperature. This result indicates that the NLO chromophore is oriented noncentrosymmetrically during the IPN formation process and is tightly held between the permanent entanglements of the two component networks of the IPN. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis and characterization of Y‐type polymers for second‐order nonlinear optical applications

A series of dicyanomethylene‐substituted polymers having Y‐type molecular architecture were synthesized by Knoevenagel condensation reaction. The polymers were found to be soluble in organic solvents like tetrahydrofuran and chloroform. From gel permeation chromatography, the molecular weights of the polymers were found to be in the range of 15,300–33,800 g/mol. Thermal analysis showed that the polymers were stable up to 350 °C with glass transition temperature (T_g) in the range of 129–212 °C. These polymers were found to form good optical quality films. The order parameter was calculated to be in the range of 0.01–0.48. Atomic force microscopy indicated prominent morphology changes due to alignment of dipoles after poling. By using Nd:YAG laser of 1064 nm, angular dependence and temperature dependence of second‐harmonic generation intensity were investigated. The geometry optimization, shape of polymers, and restricted torsion angle between acceptor and donor substituents (push–pull system) were calculated. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of polyester containing 4‐di‐(2′‐hydroxyethoxy)‐4‐diphenyl‐hydrazonomethyl chromophore

The nonlinear optical property of new polyester has been studied via second harmonic generation (SHG). The values of electro‐optic coefficients, d₃₃ and d₃₁, of the poled polymer film were 3.15 × 10 ^?7 and 1.5 × 10^?7 esu, respectively. Thermal behavior of this polyester was studied through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). 4‐di‐(2′‐hydroxyethoxy)‐4‐diphenyl‐hydrazonomethyl was synthesized from the reaction of 3,4‐dihydroxy‐4‐diphenyl‐hydrazonomethyl with 2–chloro–1‐ethanol in a 1:2 mole ratio and subsequently reacted with terephthaloyl chloride (TPC) in the presence of pyridine, as catalyst, to produce the new nonlinear polyester. The chemical structures of the resulting monomers and polymer were characterized by CHN analysis, ¹H‐NMR, FT‐IR, and UV–Vis spectroscopy. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Click chemistry‐based synthesis of azo polymers for second‐order nonlinear optics

Four linear polymers containing pendant azo moiety were synthesized through click chemistry for second‐order nonlinear optical study. The polymers were found soluble in most of the polar organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran (THF), chloroform, and dimethyl formamide (DMF). The polymers showed thermal stability up to 300 °C and glass transition temperatures (T_g) in the range of 120–140 °C. The molecular weights (M_w) of these polymers (measured by gel permeation chromatography) were in the range 37,900–55,000 g/mol. The polymers were found to form optically transparent films by solution casting from THF solution. Order parameters were calculated from UV–vis absorption spectra. The morphology changes in the films after poling were characterized by atomic force microscopy. The angular dependence, temperature dependence, and time dependence of second harmonic generation (SHG) intensity were obtained by using 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser. The SHG intensity remained unchanged up to 95 °C. At room temperature, it remained stable up to 8 days after initial drop of about 14%. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of novel Y‐type polyester containing tricyanovinylthiazolylazoresorcinoxy group with enhanced thermal stability of dipole alignment

Novel Y‐type polyester 4 containing 5‐methyl‐4‐{5‐(1,2,2‐tricyanovinyl)‐2‐thiazolylazo}resorcinoxy groups as nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores, which are parts of the polymer backbone, was prepared, and its NLO properties were investigated. Polyester 4 is soluble in common organic solvents such as N,N‐dimethylformamide and dimethylsulfoxide. Polymer 4 shows a thermal stability up to 250 °C from thermogravimetric analysis with glass‐transition temperature obtained from differential scanning calorimetry of approximately 94 °C. The second harmonic generation (SHG) coefficient (d₃₃) of poled polymer film at 1560‐nm fundamental wavelength is 8.12 × 10^?9 esu. The dipole alignment exhibits a thermal stability even at 6 °C higher than glass‐transition temperature (T_g), and no significant SHG decay is observed below 100 °C due to the partial main‐chain character of polymer structure, which is acceptable for NLO device applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

A facile approach to prepare soluble side‐chain polyimides for second‐order nonlinear optics

A simple and generally applicable new synthetic method to prepare second‐order nonlinear optical (NLO) polyimides has been developed. In this approach, side‐chain‐substituted polyimides were synthesized via isocyanato‐terminated prepolymers prepared directly from NLO chromophore‐containing diols Disperse Red 19. Using this technique, the tedious synthesis of the classical diamine monomers and harsh imidization process associated with polyamic acid prepolymers are avoided. The resulting polymers possessed good solubility and high glass‐transition (171–211 °C) and thermal‐decomposition temperatures. The polymers also exhibited excellent film‐forming properties, and good optical‐quality films were easily obtained by spin coating. The second‐order NLO activities of the polymer films were also studied, and several factors that might determine the growth of the second‐order NLO activity were proposed. The polymers obtained exhibit a large second‐order NLO activity (34–52.5 pm/V at 1064 nm). © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2189–2195, 2001     

Synthesis and characterization of copolymaleimides containing 4‐cyanobiphenyl‐based side groups for nonlinear optical applications

We report the synthesis of a nematic copolymer, P(CBMS‐co‐M₃), prepared by free radical polymerization of an equimolecular mixture of p‐(4‐cyanobiphenyl‐4′‐yloxy)methylstyrene (CBMS) and N‐[3‐(4‐cyanobiphenyl‐4′‐yloxy)propyl]maleimide (M₃) and two isotropic alternating copolymers, P(S‐alt‐M_n) (n = 3,6) prepared by chemical modification of poly(styrene‐alt‐maleimide), P(S‐alt‐M), by n‐(4‐cyanobiphenyl‐4′‐yloxy)alkan‐1‐ol. These copolymaleimides were characterized by NMR, DSC, and optical microscopy. Some corona poling experiments were performed and the second harmonic coefficients d₃₁ and d₃₃ were measured. It was shown that one can gain in net polar ordering by starting with a liquid crystalline system. The ratio d₃₃/d₃₁ was much larger than 3, in agreement with the molecular statistical models for electric field poling of liquid crystals. At ambient conditions, changes of d₃₃ and d₃₁ are 15% over 325 days. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 513–524, 1999     

Dynamic Lie algebraic formulation of second‐order optical nonlinearity for substituted benzenes

A dynamic Lie algebraic (DLA) formulation is applied to the study of nonlinear optical properties of the substituted benzenes. We have described the generation of the dynamic Lie algebra for the model Hamiltonian used in the present study. In terms of these elements of the dynamic algebra we express the evolution operator as a function of the group parameters, which can be determined by means of solving a system of coupled nonlinear differential equations. Thus, in terms of the density matrix operator formalism in statistical mechanics we obtain the statistical averages of the electric polarization and then derive readily an expression for the hyperpolarizability of the paradisubstituted benzenes. Comparisons with experimental observations and other quantum calculations of the hyperpolarizabilities for the paradisubstituted benzenes are made qualitatively and quantitatively. These results imply that the DLA method appears useful in describing the nonlinear optical phenomena in the substituted benzene molecules. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 93: 335–343, 2003     

New polyurethanes and polyesters for second‐order nonlinear optical applications

New polymers for second‐order nonlinear optical (NLO) applications were synthesized and characterized. They were distinguished by the presence of chromophore groups, with various molecular hyperpolarizability values, used as pendants on substantially rigid backbones. The polymers were prepared through the reaction of tolylene‐2,4‐diisocyanate, or a suitable alkyloxyphthaloyl dichloride, with the N,N‐diethanol‐4‐(phenyl) group azo‐linked to a nitrofluorenone, nitrostilbene, nitrooxadiazole, or nitrothiadiazole moiety. The polymers exhibited good thermal stability, high glass‐transition temperatures, and an absence of crystallinity. The second‐order NLO properties of thin, transparent poled films, prepared by spin coating and thermal corona poling, were investigated for some of the polymers. The second harmonic coefficients, ranging between 18 and 25 pm/V, depended more on the alignment of the chromophore groups along the direction of the poling field than on their molecular hyperpolarizability. The temporal stability of the NLO properties of the polymers was also investigated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3013–3022, 2004     

Time-dependent nonlinear optical properties of pyroelectric liquid crystalline polymers

Highly oriented pyroelectric liquid-crystalline polymers were prepared by photopolymerization under the influence of a static electric field from binary mixtures of two acrylate monomers exhibiting chiral smectic C mesomorphism. Both monomers contained nitro groups to yield second order nonlinear optical properties (second harmonic generation) and one of the monomers had two functional groups to yield a crosslinked polymer. The room temperature second order nonlinear susceptibility of the polymers showed during the first two hours a 10 % decrease after which it remained constant during the next 48 days. At elevated temperatures there was a significant difference in the nonlinear optical properties over time between crosslinked and uncrosslinked polymers. The uncrosslinked polymer showed a pronounced loss of second order nonlinear optical activity with time at ≥38°C. The crosslinked polymer showed a much smaller and basically a temperature independent decrease rate in the second order nonlinear optical properties at all the ageing temperatures (23-130°C). Both the loss in mesogen order parameter, very evident for the uncrosslinked polymer, and conformational changes occurring within the mesogens (β mechanism), may account for the observations made.     

Synthesis and properties of novel Y‐type nonlinear optical polyimides with high thermal stability of second harmonic generation

2,4‐Bis‐(3,4‐dicarboxyphenylcarboxyethoxy)‐1‐(2,2‐dicyanovinyl)benzene dianhydride (4) was prepared and reacted with 4,4′‐oxydianiline, 4,4′‐diaminobenzanilide and 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)dianiline to yield novel Y‐type polyimides 5‐7 containing 2,4‐dioxybenzylidenemalononitrile groups as nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores, which constitute parts of the polymer backbone. The resulting polyimides 5‐7 are soluble in polar solvents such as dimethylsulfoxide and N,N‐dimethylformamide. Polymers 5‐7 showed a thermal stability up to 330 °C in thermogravimetric analysis thermograms with T_g values obtained from differential scanning calorimetry thermograms in the range 179–194 °C. The second harmonic generation (SHG) coefficients (d₃₃) of poled polymer films at the 1064 nm fundamental wavelength were around 5.56 × 10^?9 esu. The dipole alignment exhibited exceptionally high thermal stability even at 20 °C higher than the glass‐transition temperature there was no SHG decay below 215 °C because of the partial main‐chain character of polymer structure, which is acceptable for NLO device applications. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3078–3087, 2008     

Theoretical study on the second‐order nonlinear optical properties of nonconjugated D‐π‐A chromophores

Density functional theory calculations have been carried out on nonconjugated D‐π‐A chromophores to investigate the different electron donors and conjugated bridges effects on the molecular nonlinear optical response. The results show that the large second‐order polarizability values can be achieved through careful combination of available electron donors, conjugated bridges for our studied nonconjugated D‐π‐A chromophores. The calculations also provide a clear explanation for the second‐order polarizability changes from the standpoint of transition energies, oscillator strengths, electron density difference, and bond length alternation. Solvent effect has great influence on the second‐order polarizability and electronic absorption spectrum. It is hoped that the results presented in this article will give some hints to the interrelated studies. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009     

Synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of novel Y‐type polyurethane containing tricyanovinylthiazole with enhanced thermal stability of second harmonic generation

A novel Y‐type poly[iminocarbonyloxyethyl‐5‐methyl‐4‐{2‐thiazolylazo‐4‐(1,2,2‐tricyanovinyl)}resorcinoxyethyloxycarbonylimino‐(3,3′‐dimethoxy‐4,4′‐biphenylene)] 4 containing 5‐methyl‐4‐{5‐(1,2,2‐tricyanovinyl)‐2‐thiazolylazo}resorcinoxy groups as nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores, which constitute part of the polymer backbone, was prepared and characterized. Polyurethane 4 is soluble in common organic solvents such as acetone and N,N‐dimethylformamide. It showed a thermal stability up to 250 °C in thermogravimetric analysis thermogram and the glass‐transition temperature (T_g) obtained from differential scanning calorimetry thermogram was around 118 °C. The second harmonic generation coefficient (d₃₃) of poled polymer films at 1560 nm fundamental wavelength was around 8.43 × 10^?9 esu. The dipole alignment exhibited a thermal stability even at 12 °C higher than T_g, and there was no SHG decay below 130 °C due to the partial main‐chain character of the polymer structure, which is acceptable for NLO device applications. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1166–1172, 2010     

Study on side‐chain second‐order nonlinear optical polyimides based on novel chromophore‐containing diamines. II. Copolyimides possessing direct photolithographic features

Second‐order nonlinear optical copolyimides were prepared from a novel chromophore‐containing diamine, 4‐nitro‐4′‐[N‐(4,6‐di‐4‐aminophenylamino)‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2‐yl]aminoazobenzene, a codiamine, 4,4′‐diamino‐3,3′‐dimethyldiphenylmethane, and benzophenone‐3,3′,4,4′‐tetracarboxylic dianhydride by a traditional two‐step process, which includes a solution polycondensation followed by a chemical imidization. Some of the polyimides (PIs) obtained possessed direct photolithographic features, and good photolithographic patterns were easily obtained. All PIs exhibited high‐glass transition temperatures (235–246 °C) and high thermal‐decomposition temperatures. They were also soluble in strong polar aprotic solvents such as N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone, dimethylacetamide, dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, and γ‐butyrolactone. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1419–1425, 2001     

The design,synthesis, and nonlinear optical properties of novel X‐type polyurethane containing dicyanovinylnitroresorcinoxy group with enhanced SHG thermal stability

Novel X‐type polyurethane 5 containing 4‐(2′,2′‐dicyanovinyl)‐6‐nitroresorcinoxy groups as nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores, which constitute parts of the polymer backbone, was prepared and characterized. Polyurethane 5 is soluble in common organic solvents such as acetone and N,N‐dimethylformamide. It shows thermal stability up to 280 °C from thermogravimetric analysis with a glass transition temperature (T_g) obtained from differential scanning calorimetry thermogram of around 120 °C. The second harmonic generation (SHG) coefficient (d₃₃) of poled polymer film at 1064‐nm fundamental wavelength is around 6.12 × 10^?9 esu. The dipole alignment exhibits a thermal stability even at 5 °C higher than T_g, and there was no SHG decay below 125 °C due to the partial main chain character of the polymer structure, which is acceptable for NLO device applications. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Interpenetrating polymer networks with stable second order nonlinear optical properties

Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) based on polyurethane and polyacrylate-containing 4-(4'-nitrophenylazo) aniline chromophore groups were synthesized and characterized by infrared spectra, gel content and differential scanning calorimetry. Thin, transparent films of the IPNs were prepared by spin-coating, followed by thermal curing and corona poling. The poled IPN film shows very good optical properties and exhibits only one glass transition temperature. The second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the poled film were studied by visible light absorbance measurement according to one-dimensional rigid oriented gas model. The second-order nonlinear optical polarizability can reach 10^-7 e.s.u. The poled IPN film of defined composition showed a good temporal stability of NLO properties at 120°C for more than 160 hr.     

Quadratic nonlinear optical properties of ruthenium (II)-bipyridine complexes in crystalline powders

Quadratic nonlinear optical properties for the crystalline powders of two types of ruthenium-bipyridine [Ru(bipy)₃] complexes were investigated. The nonlinear optical processes markedly depended on the molecular structures of the ruthenium complexes. Second harmonic generation (SHG) and very weak two-photon emission were observed for the alkylated ruthenium-bipyridine compexes with two long alkyl chains attached via amide bonds (RuC_nB), whereas only two-photon emission was observed for Ru(bipy)₃. The existence of two amide bonds in one bipyridine ligand for RuC_nB complexes most probably enhanced the molecular hyperpolarizability as compared with Ru(bipy)₃. The SHG intensity from RuC_nB complexes increased in the order RuC₁₈B < RuC₁₂B < RuC₁₆B. The order of SHG intensity from RuC_nB was ascribed to the difference in size of each crystalline powder estimated by X-ray diffraction methods.     

Second harmonic generation and optical anisotropy of a spin-cast polymer film

The nonlinear susceptibilities (χ⁽²⁾₃₃, χ⁽²⁾₃₁), and the refractive index anisotropy, of a main chain accordion polymer, BCSC (see the text for the complete chemical formula), have been measured by the techniques of second harmonic generation (SHG) and waveguiding. A large birefringence, which is induced in the BCSC film by the spin-coating process, is almost removed by electric field poling. Our results demonstrate the fundamental difference between the birefringence associated with quadrupolar orientational order and the dipolar order associated with SHG. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of a novel indium phthalocyanine highly branched polymer

Due to the well‐known optical limiting properties of indium (III) phthalocyanines (In [III] Pcs) and aiming at extending their conjugation system, a highly branched indium phthalocyanine polymer was prepared. Flash chromatography was used for obtaining a pure polymer of polydispersity index near to the unity. The structure of the prepared polymer was determined using different spectroscopic techniques. Optical limiting and open aperture Z‐scan measurements were carried out according standard procedures. Compared with many other phthalocyanines, the prepared indium‐phthalocyanine polymer shows a high optical limiting performance that is indicated by a relatively low limiting threshold of 430 mJ cm^?2 and a large nonlinear absorption coefficient (α₂ = 3.4 × 10^?8 cmW^?1). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.