Design, Methodology and Preparation of Novel Polymers for Nonlinear Optics

One-pot post-polymerization modification reactions such as azo-coupling and tricyanovinylation reactions were employed to synthesize a series of polymers containing different nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophoric as well as ionic functionalities. We have extended and established the versatility of our earlier reported post-modification strategy to incorporate various heteroaromatic chromophores as well as ionic functionalities in the polymers, at the final stage of synthesis. The correlation between different heteroaromatic chromophore structures and the NLO properties of the polymers was extensively studied, Polymers containing heteroaromatic chromophores exhibit improved temporal stability and enhanced NLO activity. Polymers with ionic chromophores were employed to fabricate NLO active ultra-thin films using electrostatic self-assembling (ESA) technique. Attempts were also made to synthesize second order NLO active polydiacetylene derivatives using post azo-coupling reaction.