Synthesize of an Azo Compound: Investigation its Optical Nonlinear Properties and DFT Study

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Organic Chemistry
• Nonlinear Optics

Background:

• Sulfamerazine is a sulfonamide antibiotic with potential for chemical modification.
• Azo compounds are known for their diverse optical and electronic properties.
• Investigating optical nonlinearities is crucial for developing advanced optical materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel azo compounds derived from sulfamerazine.
• To investigate the optical nonlinear (ONL) properties of these synthesized azo compounds.
• To evaluate their potential for applications in optical limiting.

Main Methods:

• Diazonium reaction of sulfamerazine followed by structural confirmation using mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and NMR.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) and DT-DFT calculations for sample geometry.
• Z-scan technique combined with diffraction patterns and optical limiting measurements using a 532 nm laser.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis and structural elucidation of novel azo compounds.
• Quantification of optical nonlinear properties: nonlinear refractive index (n2) up to 2 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/W and nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) up to 1.24 × 10⁻³ cm/W.
• Demonstration of optical limiting (OL) with a threshold (TH) as low as 15.5 mW.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized sulfamerazine-based azo compounds possess significant optical nonlinearities.
• These materials show promise for applications requiring optical limiting functionalities.
• The study provides a foundation for further development of azo compounds in nonlinear optics.