Chalcone-based molecules: Experimental and theoretical studies on the two-photon absorption and molecular first hyperpolarizability

Studying the first order hyperpolarizability spectra in chalcone-based derivatives and the relation with one- and two-photon absorption transitions

The first-order molecular hyperpolarizability (β) dispersion was measured in seven chalcone-based molecules utilizing the tunable femtosecond hyper-Rayleigh scattering (tHRS) technique. Additionally, a theoretical model based on photophysical parameters was employed to better understand β dispersion. Due to the distinct substitution patterns of the aryl/heteroaryl rings within the chalcone structure, varying profiles of one- and two-photon absorption spectra and β dispersion were observed. The applied model highlighted two important factors contributing to achieving high β values: (i) the presence of red-shifted one-photon and two-photon absorption bands; and (ii) the number of discernible absorption bands. To contextualize these results with other molecular structures, we employed the HRS figure of merit (FOM). Remarkably, it was revealed that chemically engineered small chalcone molecules exhibit a FOM comparable to larger quadrupolar and octupolar ones. This underscores the significance of tHRS scattering measurements and their correlation with absorptive parameters in the design and characterization of nonlinear optical materials.

Substituent and solvent effects on UV-visible absorption spectra of chalcones derivatives: Experimental and computational studies

The electronic spectra of the title compounds were measured in ethanol and cyclohexane. Three band systems are distinguished in the spectra of which the first and second band systems are attributed to local excitation of PhCH and PhCO rings. The third absorption band is assigned to a charge transfer (CT) band and is associated with the CO-CH=CH moiety. The solvent plays an important role in the absorption spectra and causes the CT band to consist of two electronic transitions. The effect of substituents on the phenyl rings on the charge transfer band of chalcone derivatives was also established in the two solvents. The converged gas-phase geometries of the studied chalcones was optimized using the DFT PBE0 functional with the basis set 6-311++G**. DFT calculations has been performed for an ethanol solution (using TD-PBE0/6-311++G**) level to understand electronic transitions on terms of energies and oscillator strengths to study the substituent effect on the electronic transitions of the chalcone derivatives. To consider the solvation effect of ethanol on the absorptions, the integral equation formalism variant of the polarizable continuum model (IEFPCM) was used. The calculated energies were in good agreement with experiment results. The molecular modelling technique was followed to monitor the effect of substitutions on the HOMO/LUMO energy and total dipole moment. Transitions between natural transition orbitals are also described as part of this study.

Unraveling the structure-property relationship of a chalcone-based push-pull molecule for optical limiting application in high-powered laser

In this work, the optical limiting response of a highly π-conjugated push-pull chalcone derivative (2E)-3-(2,3-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-(3-nitrophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (abbreviated as 3DPNP) has been investigated. The structure-property relationship of 3DPNP was explored through spectroscopic investigation and quantum chemical computations. The existence of weak-non-covalent interactions and charge transfer species that responsible for the chemical stability of 3DPNP were studied by AIM and NBO analyses. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of vibrational and electronic contribution to non-linear optical (NLO) response of 3DPNP were discussed in detail. The normal vibrational modes associated with a change in the dipole moment, polarizability, first- and second-order hyperpolarizabilities of 3DPNP were identified using DFT calculations followed by potential energy distribution (PED) analysis using Gaussian 09 W software and Gar2ped program, respectively. The changes in the NLO parameters with respect to the varying frequencies and electric dipole fields were studied. The abrupt changes in the NLO properties were noticed when the frequency doubled, confirming the second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of 3DPNP. From the non-linear absorption and refraction studies through the z-scan experiment, the optical limiting threshold value of 3DPNP is determined to be 3.26 kJ/cm2, which shows the suitability of the material for optical limiting applications in the continuous wave (CW) laser regime.

Synthesis of fluorescent chalcones, photophysical properties, quantitative structure-activity relationship and their biological application

The development of fluorescent pigments is an area of interest in several research fields due to their high sensitivity. In the current study-eight known and three new N,N-dimethylamino-chalcones (12a-k) were synthesized with good yields using the Claisen-Schmidt reaction. For each molecular system, the photophysical properties, including the maximum absorption wavelength (λ_Absorption), molar absorption coefficient (ε), maximum excitation wavelength (λ_Excitation), maximum emission wavelength (λ_Emission), Stokes Shift (Δλ), fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_fl), fluorescence lifetime (τ_fl), radiative and non-radiative rate constants (k_R and k_NR, respectively) were evaluated. Variations in each of these properties were analyzed depending on the substituents present on each compound. To relate the chemical structures of the synthesized compounds to their photophysical properties, Hansch analysis (2D-QSPR) was applied. As a result of Hansch analysis, we found different photophysical properties related to molecular orbitals and the energy of their derivatives (Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital-HOMO, Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital-LUMO, Difference between LUMO-HOMO-ΔLH, Chemical potential-µ, Hardness-η, Softness-S, and electrophilic global index-ω) as well as to the atomic charges on atoms C₅, C_α, C_β, and CO. The application of this type of analysis has made it possible to understand and subsequently design new molecules with defined photophysical properties. Finally, the compounds were use as fluorescent pigment to get living cell imaging on breast cancer cells, obtaining the compound 12a as promissory alternative.

Two-Photon Absorption and Multiphoton Excited Fluorescence of Acetamide-Chalcone Derivatives: The Role of Dimethylamine Group on the Nonlinear Optical and Photophysical Properties

This work studied the effect of different electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups on the linear and nonlinear optical properties of acetamide-chalcone derivatives. The results showed that the addition of the dimethylamine group led to a large fluorescence emission (71% of fluorescence quantum yield in DMSO solution) that can be triggered by two and three-photon excitations, which is essential for biological applications. Furthermore, dimethylamine also red-shifts the lower energy state by approximately 90 nm, increasing the two-photon absorption cross-section of the lower energy band by more than 100% compared with the other studied compounds. All compounds presented two-electronic states observed through one and two-photon absorption spectroscopy and confirmed by Quantum Chemistry Calculations (QCCs). QCC results were also used to model the experimental two-photon absorption cross-sectional spectrum by the Sum-Over-States (SOS) approach, revealing a dependence between the coupling of the ground state with the first excited state and the transition dipole moment between these states.

Protective effects and DNA repair induction of a coumarin-chalcone hybrid against genotoxicity induced by mutagens

Coumarins and chalcones are compounds widely found in plants or obtained by synthetic methods which possess several biological properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor effects. A series of coumarin-chalcone hybrids were synthesized to improve their biological actions and reduce potential adverse effects. Considering the applications of these molecules, a coumarin-chalcone hybrid [7-methoxy-3-(E)-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl) acryloyl-2 H-chromen-2-one] (4-MET) was synthesized and the genotoxic, cytotoxic, and protective effects assessed against damage induced by different mutagens. First, in silico tools were used to predict biological activity of 4-MET which indicated a chemopreventive potential. Subsequently, the genotoxic/antigenotoxic activities of 4-MET were determined both in vitro (Ames test) and in vivo (micronucleus (MN) test and comet assay). In addition, molecular docking simulations were performed between 4-MET and glutathione reductase, an important cellular detoxifying enzyme. Our results indicated that 4-MET was not mutagenic in the Ames test; however, when co-treated with sodium azide or 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO), 4-MET significantly reduced the harmful actions of these mutagens. Except for a cytotoxic effect after 120 hr treatment, 4-MET alone did not produce cytotoxicity or genotoxicity in the MN test and comet assay. Nonetheless, all treatments of 4-MET with cyclophosphamide (CPA) showed a chemoprotective effect against DNA damage induced by CPA. Further, molecular docking analysis indicated a strong interaction between 4-MET and the catalytic site of glutathione reductase. These effects may be related to (1) damage prevention, (2) interaction with detoxifying enzymes, and (3) DNA-repair induction. Therefore, data demonstrated that 4-MET presents a favorable profile to be used in chemopreventive therapies.

Modeling the First-Order Molecular Hyperpolarizability Dispersion from Experimentally Obtained One- and Two-Photon Absorption

The search for optical materials, particularly organic compounds, is still an attractive and essential field for developing several photonic devices and applications. For example, some applications are based on light scattering with twice the energy of the incoming photon for selected compounds, that is, the nonlinear optical effect related to the second-order susceptibility term from the electronic polarization expression. The microscopic interpretation of this phenomenon is called the first-order molecular hyperpolarizability or incoherent second harmonic generation of light. Understanding such phenomena as a function of the incoming wavelength is crucial to improving the optical response of future materials. Still, the experimental apparatus, hyper-Rayleigh scattering, apparently simple, is indeed a challenging task. Therefore, we proposed a proper alternative to obtain the dispersion of the first-order hyperpolarizability using the well-known one- and two-photon absorption techniques. By the spectral analysis of both the spectra, we gathered spectroscopic parameters and applied them for predicting the first-order hyperpolarizability dispersion. This prediction is based on an n-level energy system, taking into account the position and magnitude of transition dipole moments and the difference between the permanent dipole moment of the n-excited states. Moreover, using the presented method, we can avoid underestimating the first-order hyperpolarizability by not suppressing higher-energy transitions. Quantum chemical calculations and the hyper-Rayleigh scattering technique were used to validate the proposed method.

A Comprehensive Study on the Photophysical and Non-Linear Optical Properties of Thienyl-Chalcone Derivatives

The impact of the substitutional position of chorine atom on the non-linear optical (NLO) response of chalcone derivatives is reported in this paper. Two thienyl-chalcone derivatives, (E)-3-(2,4-dichloro-phenyl)-1-(2,5-dichlorothiophen-3-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (3A25D2) and (E)-3-(2,6-dichloro-phenyl)-1-(2,5-dichlorothiophen-3-yl)prop-2-en-1-one...

Ultrafast Nonlinear Optical and Structure-Property Relationship Studies of Pyridine-Based Anthracene Chalcones Using Z-Scan, Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing, and Computational Approaches

The structural, thermal, linear, and femtosecond third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of two pyridine-based anthracene chalcones, (2E)-1-(anthracen-9-yl)-3-(pyridin-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (2PANC) and (2E)-1-(anthracen-9-yl)-3-(pyridin-3-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (3PANC), were investigated. These two chalcones were synthesized following the Claisen-Schmidt condensation method. Optically transparent single crystals were achieved using a slow evaporation solution growth technique. The presence of functional groups in these molecules was established by Fourier transform infrared and NMR spectroscopic data. The detailed solid-state structure of both chalcones was determined from the single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Both crystals crystallized in the centrosymmetric triclinic space group P1̅ with the nuance of unit cell parameters. The crystals (labeled as 2PANC and 3PANC) have been found to be transparent optically [in the entire visible spectral region] and were found to be thermally stable up to 169 and 194 °C, respectively. The intermolecular interactions were investigated using the Hirshfeld surface analysis, and the band structures (highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, excited-state energies, global chemical reactivity descriptors, and molecular electrostatic potentials) were studied using density functional theory (DFT) techniques. The ultrafast third-order NLO properties were investigated using (a) Z-scan and (b) degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) techniques using ∼50 fs pulses at 800 nm (1 kHz, ∼4 mJ) from a Ti:sapphire laser amplifier. Two-photon-assisted reverse saturable absorption, self-focusing nonlinear refraction, optical limiting, and optical switching behaviors were witnessed from the Z-scan data. 3PANC demonstrated a stronger two-photon absorption coefficient, while 2PANC depicted a stronger nonlinear refractive index among the two. The time-resolved DFWM data demonstrated that the decay times of 2PANC and 3PANC were ∼162 and ∼180 fs, respectively. The second hyperpolarizability (γ) values determined by DFT, Z-scan, and DFWM were found to be in good correlation (with a magnitude of ∼10^-34 esu). The ultrafast third-order NLO response, significant NLO properties, and thermal stability of these chalcones brands them as potential candidates for optical power limiting and switching applications.

Second-order nonlinear optical properties of two chalcone derivatives: insights from sum-over-states

In this study, a combined experimental and theoretical study of the nonlinear optical properties (NLO) of two chalcone derivatives, (E)-3-(2-methoxyphenyl)-1-(2-(phenylsulfonylamine)phenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (MPSP) and (E)-3-(3-nitrophenyl)-1-(2-(phenylsulfonylamine)phenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (NPSP), in DMSO is reported. The single crystal structures of the compounds, which differ only by the type and position of one substituent, were grown using the slow evaporation technique, and the main structural differences are discussed. The two-photon absorption and first-order hyperpolarizability measurements were performed via the Z-scan technique and hyper-Rayleigh scattering experiment in DMSO. The theoretical calculations were performed using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) at the CAM-B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level, and the sum-over-states (SOS) approach in both static and dynamic cases. Besides the electron conjugation achieved by the aromatic rings, olefins, and carbonyl groups, both compounds have a nearly flat chalcone backbone, which is believed to contribute to the nonlinear optical properties. MPSP and NPSP have different positions, even though they have roughly the same conformation and form C-HO interactions. For several studied frequencies, the HRS first hyperpolarizability values for MPSP are greater than those for NPSP, indicating that in most cases the NLO properties of MPSP are better. The comparison among the theoretical and experimental HRS first hyperpolarizability results showed a good agreement. In addition, the two-dimensional second order nonlinear optical spectra obtained from the sum-over-states model indicate good second-order NLO responses of the two chalcone derivatives under external fields. Our findings are important not only to show the potential nonlinear optical application of the two new compounds but also to gain an insight into how different chemical compositions might affect the crystal structures and physico-chemical properties.