Grafting poly(4-vinylpyridine) with a second-order nonlinear optically active nickel(II) chromophore

Metal-containing polymers are obtained by grafting commercial poly(4-vinylpyridine) (average molecular weight 60000 or 160000) with a Ni-II chromophore complex. The metal-containing chromophore was obtained from a tridentate benzoylhydrazine ligand. Chromophore fragments were grafted onto the polymer by formation of a coordinative bond between the metal and the pyridinic nitrogen. Two acentric mononuclear Ni-II complexes containing pyridine as an additional ligand, in a square-planar or in an octahedral environment, have been prepared and characterised also by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The chemical and thermal properties of the model complexes and of the grafted polymers were examined and compared with those of Cu-II- and Pd-II-based ones, in particular with reference to their NLO properties. ((c) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005).