A comparative study of the two-photon absorption properties of a new three-branched molecule—sumanene 3O derivative and relative molecules

Abstract Using density-functional theory and ZINDO-SOS method, we carry out a comparative study of the two-photon absorption (TPA) properties of a new octupolar compound—sumanene 3O derivative and relative molecules. The results indicate that the TPA cross sections of the octupolar compounds increase with the electron-accepting ability of the center. Sumanene 3O is a stronger electron-acceptor than 1,3,5-tri(nitro)benzene. Compared with the conventional octupolar compounds, the sumanene 3O derivative, which has the largest TPA cross section among the studied molecules here, is a more promising TPA material.