Synthesis and third-order nonlinear optical studies of four-coordinated copper(I) complexes

Abstract

Three Cu(I) halide complexes [Cu(L)(PPh<inf>3</inf>)X] (L=1,10- phenanthroline, X=Cl (1), Br (2) and I (3), PPh<inf>3</inf>=triphenylphosphine) have been synthesised and characterised by spectroscopic techniques. Further structure of the complex 1 was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The nonlinear optical properties of the complexes were investigated at 532 nm using single beam Z-scan technique with nanosecond laser pulses. The complexes showed strong optical limiting behavior due to effective three-photon absorption (3PA). The values of 3PA coefficients (γ) for 1, 2 and 3 were found to be 3.2×10-24m3/W2, 6.0×10-25m3/W2 and 1.2×10 -23m3/W2 respectively, which are comparable to good optical limiting materials. These studies demonstrate that the Ligand→copper coordinative bonds facilitate the polarization of the electronic π-system which optimizes the third-order NLO response in the reported complexes. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.