An investigation on the two-photon absorption activity of various terpyridines and related homoleptic and heteroleptic cationic Zn(ii) complexes

Abstract

The two-photon absorption (TPA) properties of various terpyridines of the kind [4′-(C6H4-p-X)-2,2′∶6′,2″-terpyridine] and related homoleptic and heteroleptic bis(terpyridine) cationic zinc(II) complexes were investigated by the TPA induced photoluminescence (TPA-PL) method in a femtosecond regime. It appeared that terpyridines bearing an X donor group are characterized by TPA cross sections among the largest ever reported for a molecule with a dipole symmetry whereas coordination to a Zn(II) center leads to a decrease of the TPA response.