Amine Donors in Nonlinear Optical Molecules: Methyl and Phenyl Substitution Effects on the First Hyperpolarizability

The effects of amine donors ($a:NH_2,\;b:NMe_2,\;c:NMePh,\;d:NPh_2$) and conjugation length on the molecular hyperpolarizabilities of a series of dipolar molecules have been theoretically investigated by using CPHF/6-31G method. The first hyperpolarizabilities (${\beta}$) of p-nitrobenzene derivatives increase with the donor in the order, $NH_2\;<\;NMe_2\;<\;NMePh\;<\;NPh_2$, whereas slightly different order is observed in more conjugated derivatives, i.e., $NH_2\;<\;NPh_2\;<\;NMe_2\;<\;NMePh$. The result has been attributed to the extent of charge transfer and torsion angle. Moreover, the results show that "non-traditional" ${\pi}$-conjugation effect exists in small compounds and decreases as the conjugation length between donor and acceptor increases.