The photoconductivity and electro optic response of a self organised nanostructured poly[(ethynediyl)(arylene)(ethynediyl)silylene]/N ethylcarbazole/polyphenylsilsesquioxane composite have been investigated with a cw diode laser at a wavelength of 1500 nm. For electric field 25 V µm -1 and beam intensity 18 W cm -2 , the photosensitivity was 0.5 pS cm -1 (W cm -2 ) -1 . The dark conductivity was found to be much less than the photocon ductivity and the composite shows photo charge generation at this wavelength. The value of the composite electro optic coefficient is in agreement with data for polymeric materials active in the visible range. Orientational effects have been observed with modulation frequencies down to several Hz, and quite slow dynamics of the response can be expected.Poly[ethynediyl arylene ethynediyl silylene]s (PEAES) exhibit high third order nonlinear optical prop erties 1 and can be used as optical chromophores for photorefraction (PR) at 633 nm with fullerenes as charge generator. 2 We have also recently described novel organic PR composites, based on PEAES behaving as both opti cal chromophore and charge generator, active at the very important telecommunication wavelength 1500 nm. 3 The longest wavelengths at which organic PR materials have been previously demonstrated lie in the region 750-830 nm, 4 although inorganic materials 5 and also nanocomposites of inorganic nanocrystals in a poly mer matrix 6 active at telecommunication wavelengths have been described. The PR compositions made from PEAES/N ethylcarbazole (EC)/polyphenylsilsesquioxane undergo self organisation through π-π interactions be tween the aromatic groups of all three components giving nanostructured hybrid layered materials, thus accounting for the observed PR properties, in particular, the photo charge generation at 1500 nm even though the composi tion solution has an absorption edge at ca. 550 nm. 3 No tably, the self assembly occurs in the absence of any sur factant. Long range surfactant free ordering has been re ported recently for bridged silsesquioxanes X[SiO 1.5 ] n (n ≥ 2), 7,8 but to our knowledge it has not been observed previously for non bridged silsesquioxanes (n = 1) such as polyphenylsilsesquioxane although surfactant directed self assembly is well established, 9 and the use of an thracene based organogelators has recently been de scribed. Polyphenylsilsesquioxane itself has a random, lad der, or cage structure. 10,11 Here, we report the photocon ductivity and electro optic properties of the nanostruc tured composite at telecommunication wavelengths.
Results and DiscussionThe PEAES polymer was synthesized by Pd catalysed cross coupling of diethynyldiphenylsilane with 9,10 di bromoanthracene (Scheme 1), the polymer chains con taining ca. 50 units. 12 The molecular structure consists of alternating donor anthracene 13-15 and acceptor Ph 2 Si 16