Nonlinear optical arylhydrazones and nonlinear optical polymers thereof

A nonlinear optical material comprising a composition containing at lest one divalent moiety derived from an aryl hydrazone exhibiting nonlinear optical properties when oriented by an electric field, the aryl hydrazone represented by the formula:

• ##STR37## wherein Ar is an aromatic hydrocarbyl or heterocyclic radical, substituted with at least one electron withdrawing group, and containing up to 30 non-hydrogen atoms;
• A is independently at each occurrence either R or a C.sub.6-30 aromatic group, optionally substituted with one or more hydroxy groups;
• and R is hydrogen or a C.sub.1 to C.sub.20 hydrocarbyl radical;
• provided that there are at least two aromatically substituted hydroxy groups in the aryl hydrazone molecule.

A nonlinear optical polymeric composition exhibiting nonlinear optical properties when oriented by an electric field comprising recurring divalent nuclei of a dihydroxy arylhydrazone in the backbone of the polymer, the aryl hydrazone being represented by the formula:

• ##STR47## wherein Ar is an aromatic hydrocarbyl or heterocyclic radical, substituted with at least one electron withdrawing group, and containing up to 30 non-hydrogen atoms;
• A is independently at each occurrence either R or a C.sub.6-30 aromatic group, optionally substituted with one or more hydroxy groups;
• and R is hydrogen or a C.sub.1 to C.sub.20 hydrocarbyl radical;
• provided that there are at least two aromatically substituted hydroxy groups in the aryl hydrazone molecule.