Highly polarizable zwitter‐ions for nonlinear optics: Synthesis, structure and properties of phenoxide‐pyridinium derivatives

High hyperpolarizabilities can be obtained in nonlinear optical materials through the incorporation of electron donor and acceptor moieties. This communication reports a convenient synthetic route (see figure) to materials containing both phenoxide and pyridinium units which are among the most favorbale gropus for this purpose. The hyperpolarizabilities are examnined and the crystal structure of 1 a is discussed. magnified image