New nonlinear optical chromophores exhibiting good transparency and large nonlinearity: synthesis and characterization of chromophores with stilbene and ring-locked triene as a combined conjugation bridge

Abstract

Two new chromophores employing the combination of stilbene and ring-locked triene as their conjugation bridge were synthesized and found to display blue-shifted absorption and large optical nonlinearity compared with their stilbene-only, triene-only and azobenzene analogues. The two new chromophores with the combined conjugation bridge provide better optimization of the nonlinearity–transparency trade-off.