Nonlinear Optical Properties of Azobenzene Polymers
Oksana Krupka
Methacrylic monomers containing an azobenzene moiety were synthesized and their physicochemical properties were determined by electronic absorption, 1H NMR spectroscopy. In the present work, the homo- and co-polymers built from the free radical polymerization of methacrylic monomers incorporating an azobenzene side-group have been synthesized and structurally characterized. Results of photochemical and optical activities of the corresponding polymers are presented. We report results obtained for polymers incorporating azobenzene side-group as nonlinear optical (NLO) active molecules. The trans-cis izomerisation properties are discussed. The third-order nonlinear index of refraction and nonlinear absorption coefficients are measured using the Z-scan technique at 1 064 nm in the picosecond regime.
Keywords: Methacrylic polymers, free radical polymerization, azobenzene, izomerisation, nonlinear optical polymers, Z-scan