title: Unconditionally stable indole-derived glass blends having very high photorefractive gain: the role of intermolecular interactions.
abstract: The photorefractivity of an indole derivative and of its polymer blends has been studied at room temperature. The indole derivative 3-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethenyl]-1-(2-ethylhexyl)-2-methylindole (NPEMI-E) is a typical low-molecular-weight glass-forming molecule having peculiar nonlinear optics characteristics. It is unconditionally soluble in the photoconductive poly-(N-vinyl-2,3-dimethylindole) so that all the possible blends can be studied for a weight percent (wt. %) content of NPEMI-E ranging from zero to 100. A very high and sharp maximum of the photorefractive optical gain Gamma(2) approximately 2000 cm(-1) was obtained for a NPEMI-E wt. % content of about 90. On the basis of recently published theoretical calculations, we have made the hypothesis that the rapid change of Gamma(2) can also be ascribed to a correspondingly quick variation of the molecular electro-optic parameters of the dissolved chromophore for some well distinguished values of its concentration in the polymer matrix. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements were made and the results carefully analyzed with the aim of obtaining information on the intermolecular interactions. These last measurements also allowed rationalizing the unconditionally stable glass appearance of the obtained blends. Measurements of spectroscopic ellipsometry were also made on blends with different NPEMI-E content.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Angelone
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ciardelli
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Colligiani
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Masi
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruggeri
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Stehlé