Synthesis, characterization, and optical properties of new metal complexes with the multi-sulfur 1,2-dithiolene ligand

Abstract Metal complexes containing a new multi-sulfur atom containing 1,2-dithiolene ligand, [4′,5′:5,6] [1,4] dithiino[2,3-b] quinoxaline-1′,3′-dithiolate, have been synthesized and characterized by electrochemical measurements, IR, UV–NIR and ESR spectroscopies. X-ray structure analysis reveals that the anions of the Ni-complex derived from the new ligand form a zig-zag chain along the b axis, and the anions of Au complex of the ligand stack along the a axis while the cations occupy the holes. The Ni-complex exhibits remarkable absorption at 1082 nm (ɛ = 15 000 dm3 mol−1 cm−1) and good solubility that render this complex as a promising near-IR dye for Q-switching neodymium lasers. The third-order non-linear optical properties of the complexes are measured by the Z-scan technique with a 6.5 ns pulsed laser at 532 nm. The Au complexes exhibit non-linear optical absorptive abilities, while the non-linear absorption of the nickel complex is negligible. All of the complexes show effective self-defocusing performance. The third-order non-linear optical susceptibilities for the Au complexes have been determined to be of the order of 10−13 esu.