Synthesis and Optical Properties of Poly4'-Nitrophenyl-3-N-2-(METHACRYLOYLOXY)ETHYLcarbazolyl diazene

摘要

Poly((4-nitrophenyl) -3-(N-(2-(methacry loyloxy)ethyl)carbazolyl)diazene) wasprepared and its photoinduced birefringence, diffraction grating, and photorefractive asymmetric two-beam gain coupling were studied. The monomer was obtained by performing azo coupling in a two-phase water-dichloromethane system in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst. Photoinduced birefringence of up to 0.09 was observed and diffraction efficiencies of up to 25% were obtained, with atomic force microscopy studies revealing that the grating profile exhibited a sinusoidal shape. Asymmetric two-beam coupling is observed. indicating photorefractive properties, but the energy transfer phenomena are more complex, involving also diffraction by the photoinduced gratings. The combination of these three optical properties--photoinduced birefringence, surface gratings, and two-beam coupling--is believed to be unique and may eventually produce an all-optical device built of a single polymer film.