Self-Assembled Organic Nanocrystals with Strong Nonlinear Optical Response
Shaked Rosenne1, Eran Grinvald1, Elijah Shirman1
1Departments of Organic Chemistry, ‡Physics of Complex Systems, §Materials and Interfaces, ∥Chemical Research Support, and ⊥Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science , Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Nano Letters
|October 9, 2015
Summary
New organic nanocrystals self-assemble in water, showing strong nonlinear optical properties (second harmonic generation, SHG) despite small molecular dipoles. This breakthrough offers tunable, soluble SHG materials for future applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Chemistry
- Nonlinear Optics
Background:
- Organic nanocrystals offer tunable properties for advanced applications.
- Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials are crucial for optical technologies.
- Achieving significant NLO responses in organic materials often requires large molecular dipoles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a new class of organic nanocrystals with significant nonlinear optical (NLO) properties.
- To investigate the self-assembly of perylenediimide (PDI) derivatives into NLO-active nanocrystals.
- To explore the tunability of nanocrystal dimensions and their impact on NLO response.
Main Methods:
- Facile molecular self-assembly of monosubstituted perylenediimide (PDI) building blocks in aqueous media.
- Characterization of the self-assembled nanocrystals, including their dimensions and optical properties.
- Measurement of the nonlinear optical response, specifically second harmonic generation (SHG).
Main Results:
- A new family of organic nanocrystals was successfully synthesized via self-assembly.
- These nanocrystals exhibit a significant second harmonic generation (SHG) response, which is unexpected given the small molecular dipole moments.
- Control over nanocrystal dimensions was achieved by modifying assembly conditions.
- The resulting SHG nanocrystals are soluble and possess tunable sizes.
Conclusions:
- Self-assembly of simple PDI molecules provides a facile route to organic nanocrystals with strong SHG properties.
- The ability to tune nanocrystal size and solubility opens new possibilities for organic NLO materials.
- This work presents a promising platform for developing advanced organic materials for nonlinear optics.
