Synthesis and characterization of fluoronitroaryl azo diaminobenzene chromophores

The novel fluoronitroaryl azo diaminobenzene chromophores for potential NLO applications were synthesized and the effects of the position of the fluorine group on the properties of the chromophores were investigated. These chromophores exhibit high decomposition temperatures whilst keeping molecular hyperpolarizabilities similar to those of the non-fluorinated analogues. The chromophore 2,4-diamino-4′-fluoro-3′-nitroazobenzene (2R-4F-3N-DIAMINE) shows a significant UV blue shift and a combination of good transparency, high thermal stability and nonlinearity in comparison with 2,4-diamino-2′-fluoro-5′-nitroazobenzene (2R-2F-5N-DIAMINE) and its non-fluorinated analogue 2,4-diamino-3′-nitroazobenzene (2R-3N-DIAMINE).