Facile Attachment of Nonlinear Optical Chromophores to Polycarbonates

Construction of a simple crosslinking system and its influence on the poling efficiency and oriental stability of organic electro-optic materials

A new fluorinated polycarbonate was synthesized by solution polymerization of bisphenol AF, anthracen-9-ylmethyl-4,4-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)pentanoate with triphosgene. This new polycarbonate was used as a host polymer. A traditional chromophore with a D–π–A structure was modified by bisphenol A acrylate affording chromophore A. The large modified group can not only effectively avoid the dipole interaction between chromophores, but also endow the chromophores with the properties of attaching and crosslinking with a host polymer through in situ Diels–Alder “click chemistry” reactions. Such properties can improve both the poling efficiency and the thermal stability of organic electro-optic (EO) polymers. The thermodynamic properties of the crosslinking system showed that the glass transition temperature rose with the increase of the chromophore content. The EO polymer showed a large EO coefficient of about 78.9 pm V⁻¹ at a wavelength of 1310 nm and an excellent long-term stability of about 89% with respect to its initial value and it can be kept after 300 h of heating at 80 °C.

A new fluorinated polycarbonate was synthesized by solution polymerization of bisphenol AF, anthracen-9-ylmethyl-4,4-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)pentanoate with triphosgene.

BODIPY bearing alkylthienyl side chains: a new building block to design conjugated polymers with near infrared absorption for organic photovoltaics

A new benzene-fused BODIPY unit for designing polymer donors with near-infrared absorption for organic photovoltaics.

Effect of fluoro-polycarbonates containing aliphatic/aromatic segments on the characteristics of thermo-optic waveguide devices

A series of photoresists was prepared to investigate the effects of flexibility on the properties of thermo-optic waveguide devices.

Research of the optimum molar ratio between guest and host chromophores in binary chromophore systems for excellent electro-optic activity

A series of binary chromophore systems were designed and prepared. The optimum molar ratio (OMR) between guest and host chromophores was first systematically explored in the BCSs. When at the OMR, there is the biggest EO coefficient growth rate.

Preparation of a new electro-optic polymer cross-linkable via copper-free thermal Huisgen cyclo-addition and fabrication of optical waveguides by Reactive Ion Etching

High-quality trails of ridge waveguides were successfully fabricated using a new cross-linkable polymer (PCC01) by UV photolithography followed by Reactive-Ion Etching (RIE) process. The cross-linking reaction of PCC01 is based on the copper-free Huisgen cyclo-addition between an azide and an acetylene group. The new cross-linkable polymer (PCC01) consists of a structural modification of the previously described materials (Scarpaci et al. Polym. Chem.2011, 2, 157), because the ethynyl group is functionalized by a methyl group instead of the TMS protecting group. This feature prevents the formation of silica (SiO(2)) generated by trimethylsilyl groups and which was stopping the engraving process before completion. Herein, we describe the synthesis, the NLO characterizations, and the fabrication of a high-quality ridge waveguide with PCC01. The new cross-linkable polymer PCC01 not only solves the problems encountered with our previously described polymers, but also presents an enhancement of the electro-optic stability, because d(33) coefficients up to 30 pm/V stable at 150 °C were recorded.