Towards High-generation Ruthenium Alkynyl Dendrimers for Nonlinear Optics

Abstract

Materials with nonlinear optical (NLO) properties, especially multi-photon absorption (MPA) properties are of significant interest for applications such as microfabrication, bioimaging, photodynamic therapy, and frequency up-conversion lasing. Studies showed ruthenium alkynyl complexes demonstrated promising potential for MPA properties. In the first part of my PhD work, a series of third-generation ruthenium alkynyl dendrimers and zero-, first and second-generation homologues were synthesised. The size, purity, and structural features of the dendrimers were assessed by a combination of 31P NMR spectroscopy, diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY), size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), HR-ESI mass spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the second part of this work, ruthenium alkynyl octupolar complexes with the electron-deficient heterocycle s-heptazine as the core have been synthesised and characterised. The structure-property relationships of these complexes have been studied.