Synthesis and nonlinear optical absorption of novel chalcone derivative compounds

• A novel chalcone moiety chromophoric species linked by a triazole ring was synthesized.
• Third order nonlinear optical properties was investigated using a z-scan technique with nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm.
• SA and RSA are the main nonlinear optical processes during propagation of short laser pulses.
• The compound showed switchover from SA to RSA with the increase of excitation intensity.
• The interesting non-linear optical properties makes the compound a potential candidate for optical device applications.

3-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-1-(4-(4-(hydroxymethyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)phenyl)prop-2-en-1-one was synthesized and its third order nonlinear optical properties have been investigated using a z-scan technique with nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. The nonlinear absorption behavior of the compound in chloroform presents a distinct difference at different laser intensity. Interestingly, the compound showed a switchover from saturable absorption (SA) to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) with the increase of excitation intensity. Our studies suggest that compound could be used as a potential candidate for optical device applications such as optical limiters.