Nonlinear optical materials containing polar disulfone-functionalized molecules

Polar disulfone-functionalized molecules selected from the group consisting of:

• (a) compounds of the Formula I:
• ##STR82## where n is 0, 1 or 2;
• Z independently represents an aryl group that is substituted with an electron-donating group, an activated heterocyclic aromatic group, a group derived from a dye base, or a group derived from a dye olefin;
• R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each independently represent hydrogen, an alkyl group of about 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or taken together in conjunction with the catenary carbon atoms therebetween form a 5 or 6-membered carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring, when n is 2, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, R.sup.1 and R.sup.1, or R.sup.2 and R.sup.2 may form the 5 or 6-membered carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring in conjunction with the catenary carbon atoms therebetween;
• and R.sub.f.sup.1 and R.sub.f.sup.2 taken together combine in conjunction with the disulfone group to form a 5, 6, or 7-membered ring containing two, three, or four carbon atoms respectively that are fluorinated;
• (b) compounds of the Formula I, where n, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, and Z are as defined above, and R.sub.f.sup.1 and R.sub.f.sup.2 independently represent fluorine, a saturated fluorinated alkyl group containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms, or taken together in conjunction with the disulfone group form a 5, 6, 7-membered ring containing 2, 3, or 4 carbon atoms, respectively, which are fluorinated, with the provisos that (i) at least one of R.sub.f.sup.1 and R.sub.f.sup.2 are fluorine, and (ii) n is 1 or 2 when Z is of the Formula II ##STR83## where Y is --NR.sup.3 R.sup.4, R.sup.3 O--, or R.sup.3 S--;
• Ar-- represents a monovalent aryl group having 6 to 10 ring atoms;
• X represents a monovalent substituent group having 1 to about 20 atoms;
• k is 1 or 2;
• m is an integer of 0 to 6;
• and R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 independently represent a monovalent alkyl group of 1 to 12 carbon atoms, a cyanoalkyl group of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, an aryl, alkaryl, or arylene group having 6 to 10 ring atoms and less than about 15 total carbon atoms, an alkylene, alkyleneoxy, alkylene-tert-amino, or alkylenethio group 1 to 3 carbon atoms, an alkyleneacylamino group having 1 to 3 ring atoms, an aralkyl group of up to about 15 total carbon atoms, or R.sup.3 and R.sup.4 taken together in conjunction with the nitrogen atom form one or more 5 or 6-membered heterocyclic rings;
• (c) compounds of the Formula VII:
• ##STR84## where n is of 0, 1, or 2;
• R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, are as defined above;
• R.sup.8 represents hydrogen or a monovalent organic radical;
• R.sup.9 represents a monovalent organic acyl, allyl, aryl, alkyl, or aralkyl radical;
• and where R.sub.f.sup.1 and R.sub.f.sup.2 here represents a saturated fluorinated alkyl radical containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms, or together in conjunction with the disulfone group form a 5, 6, or 7-membered ring containing 2, 3, or 4 carbon atoms, respectively, which are fluorinated;
• (d) compounds of the formula VIII:
• ##STR85## where R.sub.f.sup.1 and R.sub.f.sup.2 here each independently represent fluorine, a saturated fluorinated alkyl radical containing 1 to 10 carbon atoms, or together in conjunction with the disulfone group form a 5, 6, or 7-membered ring containing 2, 3, or 4 carbon atoms, respectively, which are fluorinated, and R.sup.10 is selected from the group consisting of:
• ##STR86## where n here is 0, 1, or 2, and R.sup.5 represents a substituent containing up to about twenty carbon atoms;
• and
• (e) compounds of the formula:
• ##STR87## where R.sup.5 is as defined above, and n here is 1 or 2;
• and wherein the activated heterocyclic aromatic group of Z is represented by the Formula III ##STR88## where ##STR89## represents a monovalent heterocyclic aromatic nucleus;
• V represents X, or taken together with atoms in the heterocyclic aromatic nucleus represents the necessary atoms required to complete a 6-membered aromatic nucleus;
• E is S, O, or NR.sup.5, where R.sup.5 represents a substituent containing up to about 20 carbon atoms;
• and g is an integer of 0 to 4;
• the group derived from a dye base of Z is represented by the Formula IV ##STR90## where p is 0, or 1;
• R.sup.5 is as defined above;
• and W represents the non-metallic atoms required to complete a heterocyclic nucleus containing from 5 or 6 atoms in the heterocyclic ring;
• and
• the group derived from the dye olefin is represented by the Formula V ##STR91## where Ar, Y, X, and m are as defined above, Ar' independently represents Ar, X' and Y' independently represent X and Y, respectively, m' independently represents m, and h and h' independently represents 0, 1, or 2, with the proviso that both h and h' cannot be 0.