Helquat dyes combine a cationic hemicyanine with a helicene-like motif to form a new blueprint for chiral systems with large and tunable nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. We report a series of such species with characterization, including determination of static first hyperpolarizabilities β0 via hyper-Rayleigh scattering and Stark spectroscopy. The measured β0 values are similar to or substantially larger than that of the commercial chromophore E-4'-(dimethylamino)-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations on two of the new cations are used to probe their molecular electronic structures and optical properties. Related molecules are expected to show bulk second-order NLO effects in even nonpolar media, overcoming a key challenge in developing useful materials.
New complexes with six ferrocenyl (Fc) groups connected to ZnII or CdII tris(2,2′‐bipyridyl) cores are described. A thorough characterisation of their BPh4− salts includes two single‐crystal X‐ray structures, highly unusual for such species with multiple, extended substituents. Intense, visible d(FeII)→π* metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer (MLCT) bands accompany the π→π* intraligand charge‐transfer absorptions in the near UV region. Each complex shows a single, fully reversible FeIII/II wave when probed electrochemically. Molecular quadratic nonlinear optical (NLO) responses are determined by using hyper‐Rayleigh scattering and Stark spectroscopy. The latter gives static first hyperpolarisabilities β0 reaching as high as approximately 10−27 esu and generally increasing with π‐conjugation extension. Z‐scan cubic NLO measurements reveal high two‐photon absorption cross‐sections σ2 of up to 5400 GM in one case. DFT calculations reproduce the π‐conjugation dependence of β0, and TD‐DFT predicts three transitions close in energy contributing to the MLCT bands. The lowest energy transition has octupolar character, whereas the other two are degenerate and dipolar in nature.
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