Synthesis and Optical Properties of Poly{(4-nitrophenyl)-[3-[N-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]- carbazolyl]]diazene}

Abstract

Poly{(4-nitrophenyl)-3-[N-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]carbazolyl]]diazene} was prepared and its photoinduced birefringence, diffraction grating, and photorefractive asymmetric two-beam gain coupling were studied. The monomer was obtained by performing azo coupling in a two-phase water−dichloromethane system in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst. Photoinduced birefringence of up to 0.09 was observed and diffraction efficiencies of up to 25% were obtained, with atomic force microscopy studies revealing that the grating profile exhibited a sinusoidal shape. Asymmetric two-beam coupling is observed, indicating photorefractive properties, but the energy transfer phenomena are more complex, involving also diffraction by the photoinduced gratings. The combination of these three optical propertiesphotoinduced birefringence, surface gratings, and two-beam couplingis believed to be unique and may eventually produce an all-optical device built of a single polymer film.

Molecular-level interactions of an azopolymer and poly(dodecylmethacrylate) in mixed Langmuir and Langmuir–Blodgett films for optical storage

“…The lines are drawn to guide the eye. [4,10,24,35], copolymers [5,10,17,36,37] and blends [38,39] with the advantage of a relatively small writing time. The comparison of the two mixtures indicated that 41% molar fraction of azopolymer are sufficient for the photoinduced birefringence, with an optimized writing process using 1.4 mW of laser power.…”

Photorefractive Performance of Hyperstructured Cyclotriphosphazene Molecular Glasses containing Carbazole Moieties

“…This procedure was reported previously as giving good yields for the functionalization of the well-known less-reactive carbazole derivatives. [18][19][20] Our earlier attempts to obtain the molecules with different chromophore loading by varying the molar ratio of carbazoles to diazonium salt failed probably because of the bulkiness of the introduced nitrophenyl group and the steric effect of the coupling produced. Only two products, M1 and M2, were attained with different yields under the same reaction time (24 h) and temperature (room temperature) no matter what the ratio of diazonium salt was.…”

“…In previous reports, thin films of single-component carbazole-based polymers containing the same chromophore as in M1 and M2 were found to be suitable materials for storage of a photorefractive grating, [18,19,4,26] which suggests that the azocarbazole group could, in principle, be trifunctional, that is, act as a photosensitizer for charge generation, a charge transporting agent, and an EO moiety. The initial attempt to obtain a working photorefractive sample from a single-component cyclotriphosphazene molecule by a melt/press technique was unsuccessful because of microcracks formed after cooling to room temperature, which we attribute to mechanical stresses from the thermal compression.…”

Photoinduced Motions in Azobenzene‐Based Amorphous Polymers: Possible Photonic Devices

“…Nonlinear optical poling can be performed either by heating in an electric field or by a photoassisted procedure. Photorefractivity has been demonstrated for a series of such homopolymers, [25,26] andÐwhile still not optimalÐit provides the basis for a photonic switching function.…”