A Novel Amphiphilic Push-pull Ferrocene Derivative: Langmuir-Blodgett Films and Second-order Optical Nonlinearity

We investigated Langmuir-Blodgett(LB) films built from the mixture of an amphiphilic push-pull ferrocene derivative(P) and behenic acid. Langmuir films of P diluted by behenic acid exhibit a very good cohesion, and the mixed films can easily be transferred onto solid substrates. Linear dichroism UV-visible and IR spectroscopy measurements of the mixed LB multilayers confirm that the molecules(P) are oriented to the substrate. The nonlinear optical experiments on the mixed monolayer deposited on the CaF₂ slide showed that P displays efficient optical second harmonic generation(SHG) with a molecular hyperpolarizability (β)h, high as 6.0×10^-29e. s. u..