Third order nonlinear optical studies of 1-(4-chloro phenyl)-3-(4-dimethylamino phenyl) prop-2-en-1-one

► A new nonlinear optical (NLO) chalcone derivative was synthesized. ► Single crystals were grown by the slow evaporation method. ► The crystal crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system with P21/c space group. ► Third order NLO study by Z-scan at 532 nm with 7 ns pulses. ► The nonlinear refractive index is comparable to the best NLO chalcones.