The first-order hyperpolarizabilities of some charge transfer conjugated molecules with high transmission in the far red

Abstract The first-order hyperpolarizabilities, β, of a number of novel merocyanine compounds bearing electron donor and acceptor groups at opposite ends of the molecules have been determined using hyper-Rayleigh scattering. The values of β increased with increasing strength of the electron acceptors and extent of conjugation including the molecular moiety linking the donor and acceptor groups. Furthermore, the non-aromatic 1,4 dihydropyridyl donor gives a greater β value than the benzothiazole donor.