Nonlinear optical and two-photon absorption properties of octupolar tris(bipyridyl)metal complexes

The linear (absorption and emission) and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of a series of D(3) [(Fe(II), Ru(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II)] octupolar metal complexes featuring the 4,4'-bis[(dibutylamino)styryl]-2,2'-bipyridine ligand are reported. Zinc(II), nickel(II), and copper(II) complexes exhibit similar absorption spectra in the visible region (lambda(ILCT) = 474-476 nm) which are assigned to intraligand charge-transfer (ILCT) bands. The quadratic and cubic NLO properties are strongly influenced by the nature of the metallic center. Harmonic light scattering studies at lambda = 1.91 microm reveal that these chromophores display large first hyperpolarizabilities beta(1.91) in the range of (211-340) x 10(-30) esu; replacing the Zn(II) metal ion by Ni(II) or Cu(II) results in a decrease of the static beta(0) coefficient by a factor of 1.5-1.6. Z-scan measurements at 765 and 965 nm reveal relatively large two-photon absorption cross-sections [650 < sigma(2) < 2200 GM], showing that both beta and sigma(2) values can be tuned by simple modification of the metal ion.     

Zinc(II) as a versatile template for the design of dipolar and octupolar NLO-phores

Thermally stable dipolar and octupolar (D2d, D3) NLO-phores are readily accessible by combining one, two, or three 4,4'-bis(dialkylaminostyryl)-[2,2']-bipyridyl ligands with zinc(II) salts. The off-resonant beta0 values point out the superiority of octupoles versus dipoles in terms of nonlinearity/transparency tradeoff. The octahedral tris(bipyridyl)zinc(II) complex exhibits a very large beta0 value (241 x 10-30 esu), which is the largest ever reported for octupolar molecules.     

Two-dimensional rhombohedral grid coordination polymers [M(bbbt)(2)(NCS)(2)](n)(M = Co,Mn, or Cd; bbbt = 1,1'-(1,4-butanediyl) bis-1H-benzotriazole): synthesis,crystal structures,and third-order nonlinear optical properties

In this paper, treatment of 1,1'-(1,4-butanediyl) bis-1H-benzotriazole (bbbt) and KSCN with Co(II), Mn(II), or Cd(II) afforded three two-dimensional rhombohedral grid coordination polymers [M(bbbt)(2)(NCS)(2)](n)(M = Co, 1; Mn, 2; Cd, 3). The two-dimensional rhombohedral grids are parallel to the crystallographic ac plane. The rhombohedral grid consists of 44-membered rings of M(4)(bbbt)(4), and gives the dimensions of 12.913 x 10.764 A for polymer 1, 13.106 x 10.797 A for polymer 2, and 13.256 x 10.870 A for polymer 3. The three polymers' third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties were determined by Z-scan technique in DMF solution. The results show that all three polymers show very large NLO absorption and strong NLO refraction properties. The third-order NLO absorptive coefficients alpha(2) are 5.4 x 10(-9) m W(-1) for polymer 1, 5.2 x 10(-9) m W(-1) for polymer 2, and 5.0 x 10(-9) m W(-1) for polymer 3. The alpha(2) values are larger than those of all the reported cluster compounds. The NLO refractive index values n(2) of the three polymers are 5.73 x 10(-19), 3.55 x 10(-19), and 3.07 x 10(-19) m(2) W(-1), respectively. Their hyperpolarizability gamma values are calculated to be 2.40 x 10(-30) esu for polymer 1, 1.52 x 10(-30) esu for polymer 2, and 1.50 x 10(-30) esu for polymer 3. The gamma values are comparable to those of clusters and better than those of organometallic compounds, semiconductors, and fullerene.     

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.     

The roles of molecular structure and effective optical symmetry in evolving dipolar chromophoric building blocks to potent octopolar nonlinear optical chromophores

A series of mono-, bis-, tris-, and tetrakis(porphinato)zinc(II) (PZn)-elaborated ruthenium(II) bis(terpyridine) (Ru) complexes have been synthesized in which an ethyne unit connects the macrocycle meso carbon atom to terpyridyl (tpy) 4-, 4'-, and 4'-positions. These supermolecular chromophores, based on the ruthenium(II) [5-(4'-ethynyl-(2,2';6',2'-terpyridinyl))-10,20-bis(2',6'-bis(3,3-dimethyl-1-butyloxy)phenyl)porphinato]zinc(II)-(2,2';6',2'-terpyridine)(2+) bis-hexafluorophosphate (RuPZn) archetype, evince strong mixing of the PZn-based oscillator strength with ruthenium terpyridyl charge resonance bands. Potentiometric and linear absorption spectroscopic data indicate that for structures in which multiple PZn moieties are linked via ethynes to a [Ru(tpy)(2)](2+) core, little electronic coupling is manifest between PZn units, regardless of whether they are located on the same or opposite tpy ligand. Congruent with these experiments, pump-probe transient absorption studies suggest that the individual RuPZn fragments of these structures exhibit, at best, only modest excited-state electronic interactions that derive from factors other than the dipole-dipole interactions of these strong oscillators; this approximate independent character of the component RuPZn oscillators enables fabrication of nonlinear optical (NLO) multipoles with extraordinary hyperpolarizabilities. Dynamic hyperpolarizability (β(λ)) values and depolarization ratios (ρ) were determined from hyper-Rayleigh light scattering (HRS) measurements carried out at an incident irradiation wavelength (λ(inc)) of 1300 nm. The depolarization ratio data provide an experimental measure of chromophore optical symmetry; appropriate coupling of multiple charge-transfer oscillators produces structures having enormous averaged hyperpolarizabilities (β(HRS) values), while evolving the effective chromophore symmetry from purely dipolar (e.g., Ru(tpy)[4-(Zn-porphyrin)ethynyl-tpy](PF(6))(2), β(HRS) = 1280 × 10(-30) esu, ρ = 3.8; Ru(tpy)[4'-(Zn-porphyrin)ethynyl-tpy](PF(6))(2), β(HRS) = 2100 × 10(-30) esu, ρ = 3.8) to octopolar (e.g., Ru[4,4'-bis(Zn-porphyrin)ethynyl-tpy](2)(PF(6))(2), β(HRS) = 1040 × 10(-30) esu, ρ = 1.46) via structural motifs that possess intermediate values of the depolarization ratio. The chromophore design roadmap provided herein gives rise to octopolar supermolecules that feature by far the largest off-diagonal octopolar first hyperpolarizability tensor components ever reported, with the effectively octopolar Ru[4,4'-bis(Zn-porphyrin)ethynyl-tpy](2)(PF(6))(2) possessing a β(HRS) value at 1300 nm more than a factor of 3 larger than that determined for any chromophore having octopolar symmetry examined to date. Because NLO octopoles possess omnidirectional NLO responses while circumventing the electrostatic interactions that drive bulk-phase centrosymmetry for NLO dipoles at high chromophore concentrations, the advent of octopolar NLO chromophores having vastly superior β(HRS) values at technologically important wavelengths will motivate new experimental approaches to achieve acentric order in both bulk-phase and thin film structures.     

Synthesis, photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of macromolecular architectures featuring octupolar tris(bipyridine) ruthenium(II) moieties: evidence for a supramolecular self-ordering in a dentritic structure

The synthesis, photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of several new multi-octupolar tris(bipyridine) ruthenium complexes are reported. The preparation on these complexes is based on the initial construction of multipodal 4,4'-dialkylaminostyryl-2,2'-bipyridine ligands (DAAS-bpy). Thermally stable polyimides featuring octupolar ruthenium trisbipyridyl complexes have been readily obtained by a polycondensation reaction. The controlled coordination strategy of dipodal and tripodal bipyridines to ruthenium(II) has also been successfully used to build bimetallic, trimetallic as well as the first metallodendrimer made of seven metallo-octupoles. These polymetallic species exhibit very intense absorption bands in the visible and long-lived luminescence. The quadratic NLO-susceptibilities beta of these macromolecules have been characterized by harmonic light scattering at 1.91 microm and compared with those of the corresponding monometallic species. The NLO studies clearly demonstrates a quasi-supramolecular ordering in the metallodendrimer.     

Synthesis,Characterization and Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties of a Series of Ruthenium(II) Complexes Containing 2-Arylimidazo-[4,5- f ][1,10]Phenanthroline

Three novel mononuclear ruthenium(II) complexes [Ru(dmp) 2 L] 2+ [dmp = 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline, L = 2-phenylimidazo-[4,5- f ][1,10]phenanthroline (PIP), 2-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)imidazo-[4,5- f ][1,10]phenanthroline (HOP), 2-(4'-dimethylaminophenyl)imidazo-[4,5- f ][1,10]phenanthroline (DMNP)] were synthesized and characterized by ES-MS, 1 H NMR, UV-Vis and electrochemistry. The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the ruthenium(II) complexes were investigated by Z -scan techniques with 12 ns laser pulses at 540 nm, and all of them exhibit both NLO absorption and self-defocusing effects. The corresponding effective NLO susceptibility | h 3 | of the complexes is in the range of 5.15 2 10 m 12 m 6.34 2 10 m 12 esu.     

ABAB homoleptic bis(phthalocyaninato)lutetium(III) complex: toward the real octupolar cube and giant quadratic hyperpolarizability

The concept of octupolar molecules has considerably enlarged the engineering of second-order nonlinear optical materials by giving access to 2D and 3D architectures. However, if the archetype of octupolar symmetry is a cube with alternating donor and acceptor groups at the corners, no translation of this ideal structure into a real molecule has been realized to date. This may be achieved by designing a bis(phthalocyaninato)lutetium(III) double-decker complex with a crosswise ABAB phthalocyanine bearing alternating electron-donor and electron-acceptor groups. In this communication, we present the first step toward this goal with the synthesis, crystal structure determination, and measurement of the molecular first-order hyperpolarizability β by harmonic light diffusion, of an original lutetium(III) sandwich complex displaying the required ABAB-type alternation for one face of the cube. This structure is characterized by an intense absorption in the near-IR due to an intervalence transition and exhibits the highest quadratic hyperpolarizability ever reported for an octupolar molecule, √<β(2)(HLS)> = 5750 × 10(-30) esu.     

Three-dimensional nonlinear optical chromophores based on metal-to-ligand charge-transfer from ruthenium(II) or iron(II) centers

In this article, we describe a series of new complex salts in which electron-rich transition-metal centers are coordinated to three electron-accepting N-methyl/aryl-2,2':4,4' ':4',4' '-quaterpyridinium ligands. These complexes contain either Ru(II) or Fe(II) ions and have been characterized by using various techniques, including electronic absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Molecular quadratic nonlinear optical (NLO) responses beta have been determined by using hyper-Rayleigh scattering at 800 nm and also via Stark (electroabsorption) spectroscopic studies on the intense, visible d --> pi* metal-to-ligand charge-transfer bands. The latter experiments reveal that these putatively octupolar D(3) chromophores exhibit two substantial components of the beta tensor which are associated with transitions to dipolar excited states. Computations involving time-dependent density-functional theory and the finite field method serve to further illuminate the electronic structures and associated linear and NLO properties of the new chromophoric salts.     

Terpyridine Zn (II), Ru (III) and Ir (III) complexex as new asymmetric chromophores for nonlinear optics: first evidence for a shift from positive to negative value of the quadratic hyperpolarizability of a ligand carrying an electron donor substituent upon coordination to different metal centres

The synthesis of 4'-(C6H4-p-NBU2)-2,2':6',2" -terpyridine and the strongly enhanced second-order NLO response of its Zn(II), Ru(III) and Ir(III)complexes are reported, evidencing for the first time a shift from positive to negative value of the ligand quadratic hyperpolarizability by varying the nature of the metal centre. .     

An investigation on the role of the nature of sulfonate ancillary ligands on the strength and concentration dependence of the second-order NLO responses in CHCl3 of Zn(II) complexes with 4,4'-trans-NC5H4CH=CHC6H4NMe2 and 4,4'-trans,trans-NC5H4CH=CH)2C6H4NMe2

To evidentiate the role of the nature of sulfonate ancillary ligands on the value of the quadratic hyperpolarizability of Zn(II) complexes with stilbazole-like ligands, the second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of [ZnY(2)(4,4'-trans-NC5H4CH=CHC6H4NMe2)2] complexes (Y = CF3SO3, CH3SO3, or p-CH3C6H4SO3) are investigated. By working at relatively high concentrations (>3 x 10(-4) M), the positive effect of the triflate ligand remains unique while, with nonfluorinated sulfonate ligands, the second-order NLO response is comparable to that of the related complexes with acetate or trifluoroacetate as ancillary ligands. However, at dilutions higher than 10(-4) M, all of the sulfonate complexes reach huge quadratic hyperpolarizabilities because of solvolysis with the formation of cationic species such as [ZnY(4,4'-trans-NC5H4CH=CHC6H4NMe2)2]+, characterized by a large second-order NLO response. This view is supported by careful conductivity measurements. The same behavior occurs if 4,4'-trans-NC5H4CH=CHC6H4NMe2 is substituted by 4,4'-trans,trans-NC5H4(CH=CH)2C6H4NMe2.     

Improved transparency--nonlinearity trade-off with boroxine-based octupolar molecules

A series of octupolar molecules derived from the boroxine framework were designed and their optical nonlinearities were investigated by performing harmonic light scattering experiments in solution; the molecules were found to combine excellent transparency in the near UV-visible region (lambdamax < or = 280 nm) and significant first-order hyperpolarisabilities (up to beta(0) = 56 x 10(-30) esu).     

Second‐order nonlinear optical responses switching of N∧N∧N ruthenium carboxylate complexes with proton‐electron transfer

In this article, the nonlinear optical (NLO) switching action of Ru(III/II) carboxylate complexes was investigated by density functional theory (DFT). Among the studied complexed, Ru(III)PhCOO^? has the largest β value of 4972 × 10^?30 esu. Through the proton transfer (PT) process, the ? COOH group of Ru(III)PhCOOH and Ru(III)COOH complexes can form the ? COO^? group. Then, ? COO^? group acts as a strong donor and Ru(III) acts as an acceptor, which may be the most favorably used in the development of metal complexes NLO material. The redox NLO switching and PT NLO switching of Ru(III)PhCOO^?, Ru(III)PhCOOH, Ru(II)PhCOO^?, and Ru(II)PhCOOH complexes have been studied. The β value of Ru(III)PhCOO^? complex is ～36 and ～48 times larger than those of reduced Ru(II)PhCOO^? and Ru(II)PhCOOH, respectively. Note that the β value of deprotonated Ru(III)PhCOO^? is ～215 times larger than that of Ru(III)PhCOOH. The molecular electrostatic potential analysis also confirms that Ru(III)PhCOOH may have poor performance in the second‐order NLO response. In addition, the TDDFT calculations show that the ligand to metal charge transfer transition lead to the largest β value of the Ru(III)PhCOO^? complex. This investigation provides important insight into the remarkably large NLO properties and NLO switching of Ru(III/II) carboxylate complexes. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 000: 000–000, 2011     

Nonlinear optical and two-photon absorbtion properties of 1,3,5-tricyano-2,4,6-tris(styryl)benzene-containing octupolar oligomers

Octupolar oligomers containing 2-12 molecules of 1,3,5-tricyano-2,4,6-tris(styryl)benzene derivatives have been synthesized and their nonlinear optical and two-photon absorption (TPA) properties were determined. The beta(0) values are in the range of (85-1219) x 10(-30) esu and increase monotonically with the increasing number of the octupolar units within the molecule. The two-photon-induced fluorescence excitation spectra are quite similar to the single-photon absorption spectra except that the wavelength is doubled, indicating that the one- and two-photon allowed excited states are the same. The peak TPA cross-section values (delta(max)) measured with nanosecond pulses by the two-photon-induced fluorescence method are in the range (3010-62, 930) x 10(-50) cm(4)s photon(-1). The delta(max) increases as the number of the octupolar units in the molecules increases. A linear relationship is observed between delta(max) and beta, and this delta-beta relationship serves as a useful design strategy for the synthesis of novel octupolar oligomers and polymers with large TPA and beta.     

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.     

吡啶盐二维电荷转移分子的设计、合成和超级化氯的测定

设计、合成了以吡啶阳离子为吸电子基团的二维电荷转移非线性光学生色团分子－双四苯鹏(反式)-4,4'-二{p-[(N-乙基-N-羟乙基)氨基]苯亚乙烯基}-N,N'-(1,2-乙基)-2,2'-联吡啶盐和双四苯硼(反式)-N-己基-咔唑-3,6-二(p-亚乙烯基-N-羟乙基-吡啶盐),利用超瑞利散射技术(HRS)测定了这两种分子的第一超级化率β,在1064nm分别为786x10^-^3^0esu和1770x10^-^3^0esu。双能级模型计算得到的β0的值分别为215x10^-^3^0esu和119x10^-^3^0esu。从分子结构的角度定性地分析了该类分子具有大β值的原因。     

Theoretical Studies on the Electronic Structure of Nano-graphenes for Applications in Nonlinear Optics

In this work, azulene is introduced into nano-graphene with coronene center to enhance the second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. The sum-over-states(SOS) model based calculations demonstrate that dipolar contributions are larger than octupolar contributions to the static first hyperpolarizability(〈β₀〉) in most nano-graphenes except those with high symmetry(e.g., a C_2v nano-graphene has octupolar contributions Φ^J=3 up to 59.0% of the 〈β₀〉). Nano-graphenes containing two parallel orientating azulenes (i.e., Out-P and Out-P_s) have large dipole moments, while their ground state is triplet. Introducing B/N/BN atoms into the positions with a high spin density transfers the ground state of Out-P and Out-P_s to closed-shell singlet, and the Out-P_s-2N has a large 〈β₀〉 of 1621.67×10⁻³⁰ esu. Further addition of an electron donor(NH₂) at the pentagon end enhances the 〈β₀〉 to 1906.22×10⁻³⁰ esu. The two-dimensional second-order NLO spectra predicted by using the SOS model find strong sum frequency generations and difference frequency generations, especially in the near-infrared and visible regions. The strategies to stabilize the electronic structure and improve the NLO properties of azulene-defect carbon nanomaterials are proposed, and those strategies to engineer nano-graphenes to be semiconducting while maintaining the π-framework are exten-dable to other similar systems.     

Wavelength dependence of the hyper Rayleigh scattering response from gold nanoparticles

The wavelength dependence of the quadratic hyperpolarizability of 11 nm diam gold nanoparticles, is reported as measured by hyper Rayleigh scattering. An important photoluminescence background underlying the hyper Rayleigh signal is observed, a contribution attributed to radiative electron-hole recombinations following multiphoton excitation favored by adsorbed organic compound like citrate on the surface of the nanoparticles. The absolute value of the quadratic hyperpolarizability of gold spherical nanoparticles is determined and a strong enhancement is observed for harmonic frequencies in resonance with the dipolar surface plasmon excitation. No contribution of the interband transition is observed. The absolute values reported, beta(C)=5.1x10(-26) esu at the second harmonic energy 2.39 eV, have been measured with femtosecond long laser pulse, and are 1 order of magnitude weaker that the one previously reported with nanosecond long pulses. This difference can be related to similar measurements performed on the second order hyperpolarizability of gold nanoparticles and may be attributed to different electronic relaxation regimes. Finally, the spectrum of the quadratic hyperpolarizability is compared to the theoretically expected one.     

New [(D-terpyridine)-Ru-(D or A-terpyridine)][4-EtPhCO2]2 complexes (D = electron donor group; A = electron acceptor group) as active second-order non linear optical chromophores

The dipolar and octupolar contributions of the second order nonlinear optical properties of [(4'-(C(6)H(4)-p-D)-2,2':6',2'-terpyridine)-Ru-(4'-(C(6)H(4)-p-A)-2,2':6',2'-terpyridine)]Y(2) heteroleptic complexes (D and A are donor and acceptor groups, respectively), and related free terpyridines and homoleptic complexes, have been obtained by means of a comprehensive combination of Electric Field Induced Second Harmonic generation, Third Harmonic Generation, and Harmonic Light Scattering measurements. These results evidence how a metal can act as a bridge between two π-delocalized terpyridine moieties bearing a D and an A group, respectively, leading to a large quadratic hyperpolarizability hugely dominated by the octupolar contribution.     

Large Molecular Quadratic Hyperpolarizabilities in Donor/Acceptor-Substituted trans-Tetraammineruthenium(II) Complexes

A series of new Ru(II) complex salts trans-[Ru(NH(3))(4)(L(1))(L(2))](PF(6))(n) [n = 2, L(1) = 4-acetylpyridine (4-acpy) and L(2) = 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (dmap) (1), 4-(dimethylamino)benzonitrile (dmabn) (2), 4-picoline (4-pic) (3), or 1-methylimidazole (1-MeIm) (4); n = 3, L(1) = N-methyl-4,4'-bipyridinium (MeQ(+)) and L(2) = dmap (6), dmabn (7), 1-MeIm (8), 4-acpy (9), or phenothiazine (PTZ) (10); n = 2, L(1) = dmap and L(2) = 4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde (pyca) (12) or ethyl isonicotinate (isne) (13)] have been synthesized and fully characterized. These complexes display intense, visible metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) absorptions which are highly solvatochromic. An X-ray crystal structure determination has been carried out for trans-[Ru(NH(3))(4)(MeQ(+))(PTZ)](PF(6))(3).Me(2)CO (10.Me(2)CO). This salt, empirical formula C(26)H(38)F(18)N(7)OP(3)RuS, crystallizes in the hexagonal system, space group P6(3), with a = b = 17.853(4) ?, c = 21.514(6) ?, and Z = 6. The MeQ(+) ligand adopts an almost planar conformation, with a torsion angle of 9.6 degrees between the two pyridyl rings. The dipolar cations exhibit a strong projected component along the z axis, but crystal twinning precludes second-harmonic generation. Measurements of the first hyperpolarizability beta by using the hyper-Rayleigh scattering technique at 1064 nm yield very large values in the range (232-621) x 10(-30) esu, the largest being for trans-[Ru(NH(3))(4)(MeQ(+))(dmabn)](PF(6))(3) (7). These beta values are resonance enhanced via the MLCT excitations. A correlation between beta and the MLCT absorption energy confirms that this excitation is the primary contributor to beta. The two-level model yields static hyperpolarizabilities beta(0) in the range (10-130) x 10(-30) esu, with trans-[Ru(NH(3))(4)(MeQ(+))(dmap)](PF(6))(3) (6) having the largest. The beta(0) values of the complexes of the bipyridyl ligand MeQ(+) are larger than those of their analogues containing monopyridyl ligands because of extended conjugation. beta(0) correlates with the MLCT energy only when the MLCT absorption is sufficiently far from the second harmonic at 532 nm.