A ‘donor-free’ chromophore with a silicon-based acceptor group for second order nonlinear optics

In this paper we report an investigation on the linear and nonlinear properties of a non-classic push-pull molecule, based on the molecular design concept of a ‘donor-free’ chromophore. Herein a terthiophene unit acts both as a donor and a π-spacer group and a tris(trimethylsiloxy)silane substituent as an acceptor group. This latter can represent a model of a fragment of silica surface and it has been compared with a classic acceptor unit like the nitro group. The ‘donor-free’ chromophores have also been compared to more typical push-pull chromophores by replacing the terthiophene unit with the N,N-dimethylamino donor group. Despite the silane group only slightly impacts on the electronic and linear properties of the terthiophene, our results reveal high μβEFISH values for silane-functionalized derivatives producing a NLO activity stronger than that of the nitro substituted. Finally, the investigated ‘donor-free’ NLO-phore exhibits interesting physical properties relevant in term of nonlinearity/transparency trade-off, a highly desired requirement for second-order NLO materials.