Synthesis of poly (3-acetylpyrrolyl methine) with azobenzene side groups and study on its third-order nonlinear optical property

A novel soluble pi-conjugated polymer, poly [(3-acetylpyrrole-2-, 5-diyl) p-(N, N-dimethylamino) azobenzylidene] (PAPDMAABE), was synthesized by condensation of 3-acetylpyrrole with 4-aldehyde-4'-dimethylaminoazobenzene (ADMAA). The chemical structure of PAPDMAABE was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), H-1-NMR, and UV-Vis-NIR spectra. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis for PAPDMAABE indicates that part of PAPDMAABE is in crystal state, due to the short-range order of the polymer. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) curve shows that the polymer has good thermal stability and its decomposition temperature is 248 degrees C. The optical band gap of PAPDMAABE obtained from the optical absorption spectrum is about 1.73 eV. The resonant third-order nonlinear optical property of PAPDMAABE at 532 nm was studied using degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) technique-The resonant third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of the polymer is about 7.48 x 10(-8) esu.