A nunchaku-like nonlinear optical chromophore for improved temporal stability of guest–host electro-optic materials

• A novel nunchaku-like chromophore with a rigid biphenylene unit was prepared.
• The chromophore shows good stability, solubility and a large electro-optic effect.
• Incorporation of biphenylene group improves the temporal stability of poled films.

A novel nunchaku-like organic second order nonlinear optical chromophore containing a D–π–A backbone and a rigid biphenylene unit was prepared. The UV–vis absorption spectra studies demonstrated that the large rigid structure could suppress dipole–dipole interactions effectively. The electro-optic coefficient of a poled film containing 20% wt of the new dye doped in amorphous polycarbonate afforded a value of 39 pm/V at 1310 nm. Compared with results obtained from a similar D–π–A chromophore without the rigid isolated group, the new dye gave better performance. Moreover, the electro-optic film prepared with the new dye gave greater temporal stability, compared to a similar D–π–A doped poled film that was reported previously. These results indicated that the introduction of a biphenylene group could effectively reduce the intermolecular electrostatic interactions and aid the alignment of the chromophores.

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