Preparation and nonlinear optical properties of inorganic-organic hybrid films with various substituents on chromophores

Four kinds of hydroxy-ended azobenzene-type chromophores containing different substituent groups as electron donor or electron acceptor were synthesized and further reacted with 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane (ICTES) to give alkoxysilane dyes via a urethane reaction. Following a sol-gel process of the alkoxysilane dyes, the inorganic-organic hybrid nonlinear optical (NLO) films were successfully prepared. Molecular structures of the resultant films were confirmed by elemental analysis, FTIR, and 1H NMR. The betaCT mu(g) values of the chromophores were evaluated by a solvatochromic method, and the second harmonic coefficients (d33) of the hybrid films were measured by in situ second harmonic generation (SHG) measurement. The hybrid films exhibited large optical nonlinearity and full transparency in the visible range. The effects of substituent group and position on betaCT mu(g) values of the chromophores and d33 values of the films were also discussed.