Optically induced second harmonic generation by six-wave mixing:  A novel probe of solute orientational dynamics

Lin, Shujie, Hands, Ian D., Andrews, David L. and Meech, Stephen R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5561-2782 (1999) Optically induced second harmonic generation by six-wave mixing:  A novel probe of solute orientational dynamics. The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 103 (20). pp. 3830-3836. ISSN 1089-5639

[thumbnail of 116]
Preview
PDF (116) - Published Version
Download (88kB) | Preview

Abstract

The optically induced generation of second harmonics in isotropic media, which arises through a six-wave mixing interaction, is employed in ultrafast studies of orientational relaxation in solution (4-diethylamino-4‘-nitrostilbene in a range of solvents). It is shown that polar order can be induced in the samples by simultaneous irradiation at the fundamental and second harmonic frequencies. Time-resolved experiments in nonpolar solvents show that the polar order (which supports second harmonic generation) decays as a biexponential function of time. The two time constants are linearly dependent on viscosity and fall in the ratio 6:1. This result is shown to be consistent with a simple model of the six-wave mixing interaction incorporating orientational diffusion. The two relaxation components arise through contributions from the first and third moments of the solute orientational distribution function, confirmed by the polarization dependence of the time-resolved signal. Thus, it has been demonstrated that odd moments of the orientational distribution function, required for a complete description of molecular orientation, are accessible through six-wave mixing experiments; such data are not available in four-wave mixing measurements. The measurements have been extended to polar solvents, where the accelerated population relaxation of the solute is apparent. The dynamics at early times in polar solvents are complex, an effect which is explained in terms of a time-dependent molecular hyperpolarizability.

Item Type: Article
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Chemical Sciences and Pharmacy (former - to 2009)
Faculty of Science > School of Chemistry
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Chemistry of Light and Energy
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Physical and Analytical Chemistry (former - to 2017)
Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Photonics and Quantum Science
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 18 Jan 2016 17:01
Last Modified: 09 Feb 2023 13:41
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/56495
DOI: 10.1021/jp9845221

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item