Molecular engineering of nanoscale order in organic electro-optic glasses

Scott R. Hammond*, Jessica Sinness, Sara Dubbury, Kimberly A. Firestone, Jason B. Benedict, Zdzislaw Wawrzak, Olivier Clot, Philip J. Reid, Larry R. Dalton

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    38 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    The rational design of bulk nanoscale order in organic electro-optic materials, where the strong dipole-dipole interactions tend to dominate over the weaker forces exploited for self-assembly processes, remains an attractive yet elusive goal. Towards this end, a series of pseudo-discotic dipolar nonlinear optical chromophores have been synthesized and fully characterized. Theoretical guidance and an iterative molecular design process have succeeded in engineering long-range nanoscale order in organic electro-optic glasses. Small-angle thin-film X-ray diffraction experiments demonstrate a self-assembled lamellar morphology in a majority of these materials. Cryogenic crystallography, using a synchrotron X-ray source, afforded the structure of a representative system. This structure, in concert with thin-film X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy, and refractive index experiments elucidated the nanoscale order in the films. Application of these materials in electro-optics is discussed.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)6752-6764
    Number of pages13
    JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry
    Volume22
    Issue number14
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Apr 14 2012

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemistry
    • Materials Chemistry

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