Synthesis and characterization of photorefractive polymer based on chemically hybridized CdS–PVK nanocomposite with a new azo chromophore

We report an organic/inorganic polymer composite based on the chemically hybridized photoconductor CdS–PVK nanocomposite doped with a new second-order optically nonlinear chromophore 1-n-butoxy-2-methyl-(4-p-nitrophenylazo)benzene (BMNPAB) and plasticizer 9-ethylcarbazole (ECZ) to manifest a photorefractive (PR) effect. A detailed description of the synthesis and characterization of BMNPAB is presented. The poled film including PVK–10-CdS nanocomposite and BMNPAB exhibits a high second harmonic generation (SHG) coefficient of 31 pm/V. The photoconductivity of PVK–CdS nanocomposite also was studied here. Two-beam coupling experiment clearly indicated an asymmetric optical energy exchange between two beams on the polymer composite at zero electrical field, and the two-beam coupling gain of 50.0 cm−1 and diffraction efficiency of 4.2% were obtained at 647.1 nm wavelength.