Photo-crosslinked Second-order Nonlinear Optical Polymer Films with Large Nonlinear Optical Effect and High Thermostability

Pan-Pan Qiao; Qian-Qian Li; Zhen Li

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3579-8

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Photo-crosslinked Second-order Nonlinear Optical Polymer Films with Large Nonlinear Optical Effect and High Thermostability

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-03-26

- Photo-crosslinked Second-order Nonlinear Optical Polymer Films with Large Nonlinear Optical Effect and High Thermostability
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 4, Pages: 1007-1016(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.Hubei Key Lab on Organic and Polymeric Opto-Electronic Materials, Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
  b.College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
- Author bio：
  
  liqianqian@whu.edu.cn (Q.Q.L.)
  lizhen@whu.edu.cn (Z.L.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3579-8
  CLC：
- Received：21 November 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-01-13，
  
  Accepted：17 January 2026，
  
  Online First：03 March 2026，
  
  Published：05 April 2026
- Accepted：
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Qiao, P. P.; Li, Q. Q.; Li, Z. Photo-crosslinked second-order nonlinear optical polymer films with large nonlinear optical effect and high thermostability. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1007–1016

Pan-Pan Qiao, Qian-Qian Li, Zhen Li. Photo-crosslinked Second-order Nonlinear Optical Polymer Films with Large Nonlinear Optical Effect and High Thermostability[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(4): 1007-1016.
Qiao, P. P.; Li, Q. Q.; Li, Z. Photo-crosslinked second-order nonlinear optical polymer films with large nonlinear optical effect and high thermostability. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1007–1016 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3579-8.

Pan-Pan Qiao, Qian-Qian Li, Zhen Li. Photo-crosslinked Second-order Nonlinear Optical Polymer Films with Large Nonlinear Optical Effect and High Thermostability[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(4): 1007-1016. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3579-8.

摘要

The nonlinearity-stability trade-off was resolved through the incorporation of multiple ether chains and photo-crosslinking network

which not only lowered the energy barriers to promote molecular rotation during electric poling

but also allowed the subsequent formation of optimized chromophore alignment with high stability.

Abstract

One of the most significant challenges in commercializing organic second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) materials lies in the inherent trade-off between nonlinearity and stability. A key factor in mitigating this compromise is achieving precise temporal synchronization between the formation of the cross-linked network and the establishment of an optimal non-centrosymmetric alignment of the chromophores. Guided by this principle

we developed a series of NLO polymers incorporating multiple ether chains with low rotational energy barriers

which facilitate molecular reorientation during electric field poling

thereby enhancing the NLO response effectively. Combined with an optimized photo-crosslinking strategy

the resulting

PX4o/PETMP

doped film achieved large macroscopic NLO coefficient of 190 pm·V

−1

and thermal degradation temperature as high as 120  °C. This work offers a universal approach to alleviating the “nonlinearity-stability” trade-off in a wide range of polymeric systems.

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references

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