Synthesis and structure-linear and structure-nonlinear optical properties of multi-dipolar zigzag oligoaryleneethynylenes

A novel series of monodisperse, multi-dipolar zigzag oligoaryleneethynylenes DA(n) and D-Ar-A(n), bearing electron-donating dibenzothiophene and electron-accepting dibenzothiophene dioxide as arenes, with up to six charge-transfer (dipolar) units have been designed and synthesized by palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reactions. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of these multi-dipolar oligoaryleneethynylenes can easily be modified or enhanced by incorporating/extending with various central aryleneethynyl moieties such as phenylethynyl, oligo(9,9-dibutylfluorenyl)ethynyl, and oligothienylethynyl within the donor-acceptor units. Interestingly, the absorption and emission of these zigzag oligoaryleneethynylenes are not dependent on the number of covalently linked dipolar chromophores; however, the fluorescence quantum efficiencies consistently decrease with increased number of covalently linked dipolar units. These zigzag oligoaryleneethynylenes exhibit a linear increase in the two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-sections with increased number of covalently linked dipolar units without red-shifting the absorption and emission spectra. In addition, very large TPA cross-sections in the femtosecond regime (sigma(800) = 1306 GM in DMF or sigma(750) = 1522 GM in CH(2)Cl(2)) were obtained for D-TF-A(4) despite the moderate strength of the donor-acceptor pair. Our results suggest that the TPA properties of these zigzag oligoaryleneethynylenes including TPA wavelength and TPA cross-section can easily be tuned by means of modifying the central aryleneethynylene units and increasing the number of dipolar units, respectively. This approach provides an alternative means to tune or enhance the TPA cross-section at a specific wavelength.     

Theoretical study of one- and two-photon absorption properties of octupolar D2d and D3 bipyridyl metal complexes

The molecular equilibrium structures, electronic structures, and one- and two-photon absorption (TPA) properties of C2v (Zn(II), Fe(II) and Cu(I)) dipolar and D2d (Zn(II) and Cu(I)) and D3 (Zn(II)) octupolar metal complexes featuring different functionalized bipyridyl ligands have been studied by the ZINDO-SOS method. The calculated results show that one- and two-photon absorption properties of metal complexes are strongly influenced by the nature of the ligands (donor end groups and pi linkers) and metal ions as well as by the symmetry of the complexes. The length of the pi-conjugated backbone, the Lewis acidity of the metal ions, and the increase of ligand-to-metal ratio result in a substantial enhancement of the TPA cross sections of metal complexes. Substitution of C=N and N=N for C=C plays an important role in altering the maximum TPA wavelengths and the maximum TPA cross sections of metal complexes. Of them, the C=N substituted metal complexes have relatively large TPA cross sections. Replacing styryl with thienylvinyl makes the one-photon absorption wavelength red shift and at the same time leads to a great decrease of the maximum TPA cross sections of metal complexes. The possible reason is discussed. In the range 500-1250 nm, octupolar metal complexes exhibit intense TPAs and therefore are promising candidates for TPA materials.     

Theoretical investigation of one-photon and two-photon absorption properties for multiply N-confused porphyrins

We have theoretically investigated a series of multiply N-confused porphyrins and their Zn or Cu complexes for the first time by using DFT(B3LYP/6-31G*) and ZINDO/SOS methods. The electronic structure, one-photon absorption (OPA), and two-photon absorption (TPA) properties have been studied in detail. The calculated results indicate that the OPA spectra of multiply N-confused porphyrins are red-shifted and the OPA intensities decrease compared to normal porphyrin. The maximum two photon absorption wavelengths lambda(max) are blue-shifted and the TPA cross sections delta(max) are increased 22.7-112.1 GM when the N atoms one by one are inverted from core to beta position to form multiply N-confused porphyrins. Especially delta(max) of N3CP get to 164.7 GM. The electron donors -C6F5s at meso-position can make the TPA cross section delta(max) increase. After forming metal complexes with Cu or Zn, the TPA properties of multiply N-confused porphyrins are further increased except for N3CP, N4CP. Our theoretical findings demonstrate that the multiply N-confused prophyrins as well as their metal complexes and derivatives are promising molecules that can be assembled series of materials with large TPA cross section, and are sure to be the subject of further investigation.     

Platinum acetylide two-photon chromophores

To explore the photophysics of platinum acetylide chromophores with strong two-photon absorption cross-sections, we have investigated the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of a series of platinum acetylide complexes that feature highly pi-conjugated ligands substituted with pi-donor or -acceptor moieties. The molecules (numbered 1-4) considered in the present work are analogs of bis(phenylethynyl)bis(tributylphosphine)platinum(II) complexes. Molecule 1 carries two alkynyl-benzothiazolylfluorene ligands, and molecule 2 has two alkynyl-diphenylaminofluorene ligands bound to the central platinum atom. Compounds 3 and 4 possess two dihexylaminophenyl substituents at their ends and differ by the number of platinum atoms in the oligomer "core" (one vs two in 3 and 4, respectively). The ligands have strong effective two-photon absorption cross-sections, while the heavy metal platinum centers give rise to efficient intersystem crossing to long-lived triplet states. Ultrafast transient absorption and emission spectra demonstrate that one-photon excitation of the chromophores produces an S1 state delocalized across the two conjugated ligands, with weak (excitonic) coupling through the platinum centers. Intersystem crossing occurs rapidly (Kisc approximately 1011 s-1) to produce the T1 state, which is possibly localized on a single conjugated fluorenyl ligand. The triplet state is strongly absorbing (epsilonTT > 5 x 104 M-1 cm-1), and it is very long-lived (tau > 100 micro s). Femtosecond pulses were used to characterize the two-photon absorption properties of the complexes, and all of the chromophores are relatively efficient two-photon absorbers in the visible and near-infrared region of the spectrum (600-800 nm). The complexes exhibit maximum two-photon absorption at a shorter wavelength than 2lambda for the one-photon band, consistent with the dominant two-photon transition arising from a two-photon-allowed gerade-gerade transition. Nanosecond transient absorption experiments carried out on several of the complexes with excitation at 803 nm confirm that the long-lived triplet state can be produced efficiently via a sequence involving two-photon excitation to produce S1, followed by intersystem crossing to produce T1.     

Strong two-photon absorption and its saturation of a self-organized dimer of an ethynylene-linked porphyrin tandem

The two-photon absorption properties of a self-organized dimer of a free-base and zinc(II) porphyrins tandem linked with an ethynylene group and terminated by imidazolyl and phenylethynyl groups were investigated. The self-organized dimer was found to exhibit strong two-photon absorption and furthermore the saturation of the two-photon absorption owing to the intense transition.     

Two-photon absorption properties of two-dimensional π-conjugated chromophores: combined experimental and theoretical study

The two-photon absorption (TPA) properties of four TPEB [tetrakis(phenylethynyl)benzene] derivatives (TD, para, ortho, and meta) with different donor/acceptor substitution patterns have been investigated experimentally by the femtosecond open-aperture Z-scan method and theoretically by the time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) method. The four compounds show relatively large TPA cross sections, and the all-donor substituted species (TD) displays the largest TPA cross-section σ(2) = 520 ± 30 GM. On the basis of the calculated electronic structure, TD shows no TPA band in the lower energy region of the spectrum because the transition density is concentrated on particular transitions due to the high symmetry of the molecular structure. The centrosymmetric donor-acceptor TPEB para shows excitations resulting from transitions centered on D-π-D and A-π-A moieties, as well as transition between the D-π-D and A-π-A moieties; this accounts for the broad nature of the TPA bands for this compound. Calculations for two noncentrosymmetric TPEBs (ortho and meta) reveal that the diminished TPA intensities of higher-energy bands result from destructive interference between the dipolar and three-state terms. The molecular orbitals (MOs) of the TPEBs are derivable with linear combinations of the MOs of the two crossing BPEB [bis(phenylethynyl)benzene] derivatives. Overall, the characteristics of the experimental spectra are well-described based on the theoretical analysis.     

Branched carbon-rich luminescent multinuclear platinum(II) and palladium(II) alkynyl complexes with phosphine ligands

In this review, the synthesis, electronic absorption and luminescent properties of a series of branched alkynylpalladium(II) and -platinum(II) phosphine complexes with different alkynyl backbones and some of their structurally related complexes in the literature will be discussed. With the growing research interest in the potential application of these complexes in the field of non-linear optics (NLO), the two-photon absorption (TPA) properties and the corresponding structure–property relationships of selected luminescent branched platinum(II) bis-alkynyl complexes will also be described.     

Theoretical study of two-photon absorption in donor-acceptor chromophores tetraalkylammonium halide/carbon tetrabromide

Two-photon absorption properties of a series of donor-acceptor chromophores of tetraalkylammonium halide/carbon tetrabromide ([NR4h.CBr4], h = Cl, Br, I; R = Me, Et, Pr) complexes are investigated in terms of the calculated results by the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) technique combined with the sum-over-states (SOS) method. The modeling two-photon absorption spectra show that these charge-transfer complexes have large two-photon absorption (TPA) cross sections and the [NEt4I.CBr4] has the largest TPA cross section delta with the value of 5.0 x 10(-45) cm4 s photon(-1). The maximum values of delta increase with increasing separations between the donor/acceptor in the order Cl...Br < Br...Br < I...Br for [NEt4h.CBr4] complexes; however, the TPA cross sections delta vary slightly as the size of the alkyl group increases from methyl to propyl for the bromide as a donor, and the maximum wavelength of the TPA peak lambdamax indicates a bathochromic shift. The charge transfers from the halide anion to the carbon tetrabromide make a significant contribution to the excited states, and the donor-acceptor charge transfer plays an important role in the TPA activity, whereas changes in size of alkyl group do not make a substantial contribution to TPA.     

取代基对二噻吩并噻吩衍生物的双光子吸收性质的影响

利用ZINDO/SOS方法, 从理论上研究了对称和不对称取代两种情况下, 取代基对二噻吩并噻吩衍生物单双光子吸收性质的影响. 结果表明, 所设计的噻吩类分子具有较大的双光子吸收截面, 且双受体取代比双给体取代更有利于增大分子的双光子吸收截面. 同时发现, 此类分子受体取代可以显著增加波长较短的双光子峰附近的双光子吸收, 而给体取代则可以改善波长较长吸收峰附近的双光子吸收.     

Theoretical investigation of one- and two-photon absorption properties of platinum acetylide chromophores

In this paper, we have theoretically investigated bis((4-phenylethynyl)phenyl) ethynyl)bis(trimethylphosphine)platinum(II) (PE2) and its analogs three platinum acetylide complexes (1-3) that feature highly pi-conjugated ligands (alkynyl-dimethylfluorene substituted with electron-donating or -withdrawing moieties). The geometrical and electronic structures are calculated at the ECP60MWB//6-31G*(H, C, P, N, S) basis set level by the density functional theory (DFT) method; one-photon absorption properties have been calculated by using time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) and Zerner's intermediate neglect of differential overlap (ZINDO) methods, and two-photon absorption (TPA) properties are obtained with the ZINDO/sum-over-states method. The values of beta(sp) and beta(d) for Pt are adjusted to -1 eV and -28.5 eV, respectively, to make one-photon absorption spectra calculated by ZINDO closest to the experimental data and TDDFT results. The calculated results indicate that all molecules in this work (involving cis isomers of molecules 1-3) take on two TPA peaks in the 600-800 nm region. The peak at 700-750 nm should not be simply attributed to the appearance of noncentrosymmetric cis isomers in solution, although trans and cis isomers adhere to a different selection rule. Every TPA peak results from its transition character. Molecules 1-3 show greater two-photon absorption strength compared with PE2 and retain good transparency.     

Degenerate two-photon-absorption spectral studies of highly two-photon active organic chromophores

Degenerate two-photon absorption (TPA) spectral properties of five AFX chromophore solutions have been studied using a single and spectrally dispersed sub-picosecond white-light continuum beam. In a specially designed optical configuration, optical pathways inside the sample solution for different spectral components of the focused continuum beam were spatially separated from each other. Thus, the nondegenerate TPA processes coming from different spectral components can be eliminated, and the direct nonlinear absorption spectrum attributed to degenerate TPA processes can be readily obtained. Using this new technique, the complete TPA spectra for these five highly two-photon-active compounds (AF-380, AF-350, AF-295, AF-270, and AF-50) were obtained in the spectral range from 600 to 950 nm on an absolute scale of TPA cross section. The relationship between the molecular structures and their TPA spectral behaviors are discussed. In general the measured TPA spectra are not identical with the linear absorption spectra on the scale of absorbed photon(s) energy. Moreover, for some sample (such as AF-380), the TPA spectrum is totally different from the linear spectrum, which implies the difference of molecular transition pathways and selection rules for one- and two-photon excitation processes. At high excitation intensity levels (>or=15 GW/cm(2)), the saturation behavior of TPA transition can be observed obviously in AF-350 and AF-380 solutions that exhibit much higher nonlinear absorptivity than the other chromophores investigated.     

二吡唑铝化合物双光子吸收性质的理论研究

应用密度泛函理论(DFT)和半经验的ZINDO方法对二吡唑铝化合物的单、双光子吸收(OPA、TPA)性质进行了研究.结果表明,铝氮烷杂环化合物具有好的双光子吸收性质,其双光子最大吸收截面值(δmax)可达到2860.1 GM(1 GM=10-50 cm4·s·photon-1).在中心、共轭桥和末端引入强的吸电子基团可调谐单、双光子吸收光谱,实现在不同波长范围的双光子吸收;利用三态公式分析了分子的双光子吸收截面变化的内在原因;铝氮烷杂环化合物与其相应的硼化合物相比,表现出类似的单、双光子吸收性质,但一定程度上可增大双光子吸收截面.     

Design, synthesis, characterization, luminescence and non-linear optical (NLO) properties of multinuclear platinum(II) alkynyl complexes

A series of luminescent multinuclear platinum(II) alkynyl complexes containing triethynylbenzene or 1,4-bis(3,5-diethynylphenyl)buta-1,3-diyne as cores has been successfully synthesized and characterized. The electronic absorption, emission, nanosecond transient absorption and electrochemical properties of these complexes have been reported. These complexes show long-lived emissions in degassed benzene solution and in alcoholic glass at 77 K. Moreover, they are found to exhibit two-photon absorption (2PA) and two-photon induced luminescence (TPIL) properties, and their two-photon absorption cross-sections have been determined to be 6-191 GM upon excitation at 720 nm. Through a systematic comparison, it has been found that tetra- and hexanuclear platinum(II) complexes show better 2PA and TPIL properties than their di- and trinuclear counterparts.     

氧芴三苯胺多枝分子的双光子吸收与电化学行为

研究了3个氧芴/三苯胺衍生物: E-2,8-双(4-二苯胺基苯乙烯基)氧芴(简称OT-G1)、E-2,8-双[4-(二苯基氨基-二苯乙烯基)(4’-溴苯基)氨基-苯乙烯基]氧芴(简称OT-G1.5)和E-2,8-双-[4’,4″-二-(二苯胺基苯乙烯基)-4-二苯胺基苯乙烯基]氧芴(简称OT-G2)的双光子吸收和电化学行为. 研究结果表明, 分子“代数”从1→1.5→2增高, 氧芴三苯胺多枝分子的HOMO能级升高、双光子荧光强度和双光子吸收截面明显增大. 由于HOMO能级的升高有利于分子的电荷转移, 因而分子表现出强的双光子吸收能力, 这表明可通过电化学行为来推断出分子的双光子吸收性能.     

Very large infrared two-photon absorption cross section of asymmetric zinc porphyrin aggregates: Role of intermolecular interaction and donor-acceptor strengths

Very large two-photon absorption (TPA) cross sections at the infrared region have been revealed for J-aggregates of asymmetric zinc porphyrin using quantum-chemical calculation. The TPA properties are evaluated for monomer and aggregates of a series of push-pull porphyrins, whose syntheses are known in the literature. The two-photon absorption cross section can be greatly enhanced by increasing the strengths of the electron donor/acceptor. We also present a quantum-chemical analysis on porphyrin aggregates to understand the role of intermolecular interactions and the relationship between structural and collective nonlinear optical properties. It has been observed that the TPA properties change tremendously as monomers undergo J-aggregation and the magnitudes of TPA cross sections are highly dependent on the nature of aggregates. The importance of our results with respect to the design of photonic and photodynamic therapy materials has been discussed.     

Two-photon spectroscopy of cyclometalated iridium complexes

The near-infrared two-photon absorption (TPA) spectra of a series of cyclometalated iridium complexes have been measured. These complexes exhibit moderately large TPA cross-sections of approximately 20 GM at the biological relevant wavelength of 800 nm. A new complex has been designed and synthesised, and found to have an increased cross-section of 44 GM at 800 nm. Full photophysical characterisation of this complex is presented.     

Multipolar symmetric squaraines with large two-photon absorption cross-sections in the NIR region

The two-photon absorption (TPA) properties of two extended symmetric squaraine dyes are thoroughly characterized from the experimental and quantum-chemical point of view. The two molecules are specially engineered to have a multipolar structure with increasing complexity, D-π-A-π-D and A'-π-D-π-A-π-D-π-A', respectively. The experimental TPA spectra, measured by means of the Z-scan technique in the femtoseconds regime, display considerably high values of TPA cross sections (σ(TPA)) for both molecules. In particular, the squaraine with the more extended structure shows the highest value of σ(TPA) ever reported for this class of molecules. CIS and TDDFT calculations of the one and two-photon absorption properties are carried out to clarify the origin of the observed TPA properties and fully characterize the electronic properties of these compounds. The calculations, in good agreement with the experimental data, suggest that the origin of this exceptionally high σ(TPA) can be ascribed to the presence of a peripheral A' group, that increases the density of excited states involved in the TPA process.     

Theoretical study of two-photon absorption properties of a series of ferrocene-based chromophores

The electronic structures, one-photon absorption (OPA), and two-photon absorption (TPA) properties of a series of ferrocene-based chromophores with TCF-type acceptors (TCF = 2-dicyanomethylene-3-cyano-4-methyl-2,5-dihydrofuran) have been studied by using the ZINDO-SOS method. The results have revealed that OPA and TPA of ferrocenyl derivatives are affected by the strength of the acceptor, especially the pi-bridge conjugation length. The TPA cross section increases with increasing acceptor strength and pi-bridge conjugation length. The TCF-type acceptor with a phenyl group can lead to a larger TPA cross section. Quadrupole molecules have the largest TPA cross sections (2000-3000 GM), which are about 4 times that of the corresponding dipolar molecules, indicating larger interactions between the top and bottom branches. Finally, the origins of the two-photon excitations for ferrocenyl derivatives are analyzed. The calculations show that ferrocenyl derivatives with TCF-type acceptors (especially quadrupole molecules) are promising candidates for TPA materials.     

Two-photon absorption of Zn(II) octupolar molecules

In this work we present an investigation of the non-linear optical (NLO) properties of two octupolar chromophores: [Zn(4,4'-bis(dibutylaminostyryl)-[2,2']-bipyridine)(3)](2+) and [Zn(4,4'-bis((E)-2-(N-(TEG)pyrrol-2-yl)vinyl)-[2,2']-bipyridine)(3)](2+) with Zn(ii) as the coordination center, using two-photon emission technique (TPE) in fs-pulse temporal regime. Compared to the free ligands, our results do not show a net increase in the two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-section for the octupolar complexes, once normalized to the ligand unit. This is in partial disagreement with a previous theoretical study investigating the first molecule where a significant increase of the TPA cross-section was predicted (X. J. Liu, et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2004, 120, 11 493).     

Theoretical study of the two-photon absorption properties of octupolar complexes with Cu(I), Zn(II) and Al(III) as centers and bis-cinnamaldimine as ligands

The equilibrium geometries, electronic structures, one- and two-photon absorption (TPA) properties of a series of octupolar complexes with the Cu(I), Zn(II) and Al(III) as coordinate centers and the bis-cinnamaldimine as ligands have been studied using the B3LYP/6-31G(d) and ZINDO-SOS methods. Compared with the dipolar metal complexes, all the octupolar metal complexes (including tetrahedral and octahedral complexes) have relatively large TPA cross-sections, indicating that building octupolar metal complex is an effective route to design of promising TPA material. Lewis acidity of metal center and molecular symmetry are two important factors for enhancement of TPA cross-section of metal complex. Due to the stronger Lewis acidity of Zn(II) than Cu(I) as well as Al(III) than Zn(II), the tetrahedral Zn(II) complex exhibits a TPA cross-section larger than that of the tetrahedral Cu(I) complex, the maximum TPA position of the octahedral Al(III) complex is red-shifted relative to the octahedral Zn(II) complex, and at the same time, the octahedral Al(III) complex has a large TPA cross-section. Compared with the tetrahedral complexes, the TPA cross-sections of the octahedral complexes are enhanced due to the increased number of ligands.