Nonlinear absorption, optical limiting behavior and structural study of a new chalcone derivative-1-(3, 4-dimethylphenyl)-3-[4(methylsulfanyl) phenyl] prop-2-en-1-one

A new third order nonlinear optical (NLO) organic material-1-(3, 4-dimethylphenyl)-3-[4(methylsulfanyl) phenyl] prop-2-en-1-one (4DPMS) belonging to chalcone family has been crystallized in acetone solution. The 4DPMS crystals are characterized by CHNS analysis, FTIR, UV-visible spectral and thermal techniques. The single crystal X-ray diffraction study reveals that 4DPMS crystallizes in monoclinic system with Plan space group. The linear optical absorption spectrum revealed that the 4DPMS crystals are transparent in the entire visible region. Thermogravimetric data shows absence of phase transition before melting point and from differential scanning calorimetry analysis the melting point of the crystal is found to be 106 degrees C. Third order nonlinear absorption and optical limiting experiment on 4DPMS was carried out using open aperture Z-scan technique with Nd: YAG laser operating at 532 nm. It was found that the calculated values of excited state absorption cross section for 4DPMS molecules is much greater than the ground state absorption cross section. A decrease in effective nonlinear absorption coefficient was observed with increase in the input irradiance of laser. The observed optical limiting property in 4DPMS is attributed to reverse saturable absorption. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.