Aromatic/proaromatic donors in 2-dicyanomethylenethiazole merocyanines: from neutral to strongly zwitterionic nonlinear optical chromophores

Push-pull compounds, in which a proaromatic electron donor is conjugated to a 2-dicyanomethylenethiazole acceptor, have been prepared, and their properties compared to those of model compounds featuring an aromatic donor. A combined experimental (X-ray diffraction, (1) H NMR, IR, Raman, UV/Vis, nonlinear optical (NLO) measurements) and theoretical study reveals that structural and solvent effects determine the ground-state polarisation of these merocyanines: whereas 4H-pyran-4-ylidene- and 4-pyridylidene-containing compounds are zwitterionic and 1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene derivatives are close to the cyanine limit, anilino-derived merocyanines are essentially neutral. This very large range of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) gives rise to efficient second-order NLO chromophores with μβ values ranging from strongly negative to strongly positive. In particular, pyranylidene derivatives are unusual in that they show an increase in the degree of ICT on lengthening the π-spacer, a feature that lies behind the very large negative μβ values they display. The linking of the formally quinoidal 2-dicyanomethylenethiazole moiety to proaromatic donors seems a promising approach towards the optimisation of zwitterionic NLO chromophores.

Linear and V-shaped nonlinear optical chromophores with multiple 4H-pyran-4-ylidene moieties

A simple synthesis of dipolar one- and two-dimensional chromophores bearing two or three 4H-pyran-4-ylidene moieties is reported. Whereas the pyranylidene fragments acting as donors are proaromatic, the spacer one is not. In the linear derivatives, chain elongation gives rise to a sharp increase in the second order nonlinear optical responses, but some V-shaped derivatives display first hyperpolarizabilities (beta) lower than those of their linear analogues. This uncommon feature lends experimental support to previous theoretical studies on the relative contribution and sign of the beta-tensor components.

4H-Pyran-4-ylidenes: strong proaromatic donors for organic nonlinear optical chromophores

Merocyanines where a polyenic spacer separates a 4H-pyran-4-ylidene moiety and different strong organic acceptors have been synthesized. According to NMR studies and X-ray diffraction data, these compounds have weakly alternated structures and remarkably zwitterionic ground states, with a partial aromatic character that is compared to those of other pyran derivatives. The proaromaticity of the 4H-pyran-4-ylidene donor lies behind the cyanine-like behavior and low (positive or negative) second-order optical nonlinearities of the shorter derivatives. On the other hand, lengthening the pi-spacer gives rise to rapidly increasing mubeta(1907) values up to 17,400 x 10(-48) esu.

Synthesis, Structure, and Optical Properties of 1,4-Dithiafulvene-Based Nonlinear Optic-phores

Polyenic nonlinear optic (NLO)-phores with a proaromatic 1,4-dithiafulvene electron donor and the little explored 1,1,3-tricyano-2-phenylpropene acceptor have been synthesized. Their configurational and conformational features, ground state polarization, and linear and nonlinear optical properties have been determined experimentally and theoretically, and the results are compared to those of tetrathiafulvalene-related derivatives. The newly prepared compounds show close to optimal bond length alternation values for maximizing the first molecular hyperpolarizability, and one of them displays the highest mu beta0 value ever reported for a dithiafulvene-based NLO-phore. The first example of a dithiafulvenylmethylene transfer reaction is also reported.

Vibrational fingerprint of the structural tuning in push-pull organic chromophores with quinoid or proaromatic spacers

The Raman spectra of a series of push-pull molecules containing probenzenoid or quinoid spacers which are substituted with 1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene as donor and dicyano-methylene or barbituric acid as acceptors have been analyzed. The experimental spectra have been assigned and interpreted according to density functional theory calculations. Correlations between the Raman spectra of the isolated spacers and of the substituted molecules have been done. Raman bands in the 1620-1560 cm-1 interval provide vibrational markers of the quinoid<-->aromatic structural evolution. This finding is supported by a careful inspection of geometrical parameters, namely, bond length alteration data and particular bond distances. As a result, the peak positions and relative intensities of these Raman features can be used to evaluate the benzenoid character of the spacer as a function of the donor/acceptor substitution pattern. This paper shows that Raman spectroscopy is a powerful spectroscopic tool for the analysis of the conjugational properties (i.e., intramolecular donor-->acceptor charge transfer) of new organic materials.