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.