Nonlinear optical chromophores with pyrrole moieties as the conjugated bridge: Enhanced NLO effects and interesting optical behavior

A series of nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores were successfully prepared, in which pyrrole moieties were the conjugated bridge. In comparison with their analogues containing furan or thiophene groups as the bridge, these chromophores demonstrated similar or enhanced NLO effects (up to 3.3 times) and interesting optical behavior. While the acceptor groups were malononitrile (Mal), 3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (Iso), and 1,3-diethylthiobarbituric acid (Bar), the chromophores exhibited much blue-shifted maximum absorption wavelengths (lambda(max)) (up to 36 nm); however, the lambda(max) of the chromophore containing tricyanovinyldihydrofuran (TCF) as acceptor became much longer than that of the analogue (up to 75 nm).