Computational Study of Molecules with High Intrinsic Hyperpolarizabilities

In the current manuscript we present the results of a computational study on a series of chromophores with enhanced intrinsic hyperpolarizability. The high hyperpolarizability values of these molecules were previously reported and were achieved by making use of aromatic moieties in order to modulate the aromatic stabilization energy along the conjugated bridge between the donor and the acceptor. Calculations were performed using semiempirical, DFT, and TDDFT methods, and the results reproduce the trend determined experimentally for the first hyperpolarizability values. Several calculation schemes were used, and the best agreement was achieved when long-range Hartree-Fock exchange corrections and solvent effects are included in the OFT calculations. The long-range corrections proved to be especially important for the azobenzene derivatives, which otherwise have their hyperpolarizability overestimated considerably in the OFT calculations. The results are also analyzed within the framework of a two-level model, which correctly reproduces the trend in the hyperpolarizabilities of the molecules under study.