Enhancement of the first hyperpolarizability of dye molecules on clay particles

Summary form only given. New approaches to the engineering of nonlinear materials are important. We have investigated second-order nonlinear properties of dye molecules adsorbed on clay particles. Clays are naturally occurring aluminosilicates with sheets consisting of two layers of (Al,Si)O/sub 4/ tetrahedra sandwiching a layer of Mg,Li(O,OH)/sub 6/ or Al,Mg(O,OH)/sub 6/ octahedra. We show that the nonlinear response of the dye molecules can be enhanced by a factor exceeding 100 in the clay environment. The enhancement is associated with a change in the molecular symmetry.