Two new poly(arylene ether sulfone)s containing second-order nonlinear optical chromophores

Two new poly(arylene ether sulfone)s, P1 and P2, with pendant nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores (60 and 84%, respectively) have been easily prepared by post-esterification reaction of poly(arylene ether sulfone) P under mild conditions. P1 and P2 are readily soluble in common organic solvents at room temperature and thermally stable up to 200 °C in both air and argon. The glass transition temperatures (Tg's) of P1 and P2 are 174 and 189 °C, respectively. The resonant nonlinear optical coefficient (d33) values were estimated to be 29.2 and 16.5 pm/V for P1 and P2, respectively, by in situ second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements at 1064 nm fundamental wavelength. By using the approximation two-level model, the nonresonant NLO coefficient (d33(∞)) values of P1 and P2 were estimated to be 6.6 and 4.8 pm/V, respectively.