Synthesis, crystal structure and third-order optical nonlinearity of a 'flywheel'-shaped cluster, [MoS4Cu3(dppm)3][BF4]·2H2O

Abstract

The title compound [MoS4Cu3(dppm)3][BF4]]·2H2O (dppm = Ph2PCH2PPh2) was synthesized for nonlinear optical studies by the reaction of (Et4N)2MoS4 and [Cu2(dppm)2(MeCN)4][BF4]2 in CH3CN solution. Single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed that three copper atoms and the MoS4/2- form a distorted 'flywheel' array with W-Cu separations of 2.7754(14), 2.792(2) and 2.820 (2) Å. The third-order nonlinear optical properties were investigated by a Z-scan technique with 7 ns laser pulses at 532 nm. It was observed that the nonlinear absorption is very small, but it has considerable third-order large nonlinear refractive index. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.