Constructing a mixed π-conjugated bridge to effectively enhance the nonlinear optical response in the Möbius cyclacene-based systems.

Using density functional theory computations, employing the concept of a mixed π-conjugated bridge can effectively improve the first hyperpolarizability (β0) of Möbius cyclacene (MC)-based systems with a D-π-A framework. This mixed π-conjugated bridge is constructed by applying a -(CH=CH)x-NH2 or -(CH=CH)x-NO2 chain to modify [8]MC, which can lead to a considerable β0 value (e.g. [8]MC-(CH=CH)12-NO2 (9.87 × 10(5) au) with only a certain chain length), much larger than the sole [8]MC (261 au) and the corresponding NH2/NO2-modified polyethylene chain with the same π-conjugated length. It is revealed that the substituent sites and the chain length can play a crucial role in improving β0 values of these MC-chain systems, where the β0 value can monotonically increase with increasing -(CH=CH)x- length, and the substituent electron-withdrawing -(CH=CH)x-NO2 chain is superior to the parallel electron-donating -(CH=CH)x-NH2. These appealing findings can provide valuable insights into the design of novel NLO materials based on MC.