Effect of donor-acceptor substitution on the nonlinear optical properties of oligo(1,4-phenyleneethynylene)s studied by third harmonic generation spectroscopy

Third-harmonic generation (THG) spectroscopy was performed for oligo(1,4-phenyleneethynylene)s (OPEs) with terminal donor-acceptor (DA) substitution and compared to the results of merely donor substituted OPEs and regular OPE chains with 2,5-dipropoxy benzene rings. Both, extension of the conjugation and push-pull effect enhance the molecular hyperpolarizability gamma, even for the DAOPEs, which exhibit a hypsochromic shift of the long-wavelength absorption for increasing length L of the conjugated chain.