A convenient modular approach of functionalizing aromatic polyquinolines for electrooptic devices

A versatile and generally applicable synthetic method for making second-order nonlinear optical (NLO)side-chain aromatic polyquinolines has been developed. This approach emphasizes the ease of incorporating NLO chromophores onto the pendent phenyl moieties of parent polyquinolines at the final stage via a mild Mitsunobu reaction, which provides the synthesis of NLO polyquinolines with a broad variation of polymer backbones and great flexibility in the selection of chromophores. The synthesized NLO side-chain polyquinolines possess high glass transition temperature (T-g > 200 degrees C), good processability, and excellent thermal stability. The promising results of electrooptic (EO) activity (up to 35 pm/V at 830 nm and 22 pm/V at 1300 nm), optical loss (1.5-2.5 dB/cm), and long-term stability of the poling-induced polar order (r(33) values retained > 90% of their original values at 85 degrees C for more than 1000 h) have demonstrated the advantages of this design approach. The excellent combination of these properties in the resulting polymers have also provided a great promise in the development of EO devices.