Origin of Thermal Nonlinear Refraction in Alcohols Revealed by Spatial Self-Phase Modulation under Excitation at 1560 nm
- 1Universidade Federal de Pernambuco , , ,
- 2Universidade Federal de Pernambuco , , , ,
- 3Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich , , ,
Abstract
We investigated the relationship between molecular structure and nonlinear thermal responses of alcohols with different numbers of carbon atoms in their main chains using spatial self-phase modulation experiments at 1560 nm. The studied materials included the following aliphatic primary alcohols: methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol, and 1-octanol, in addition to isopropanol and phenylmethanol. The absolute values of the effective nonlinear refractive indices, |n2eff|, ranged from 9.33 × 10–5 cm2/W for methanol to 3.10 × 10–5 cm2/W for octanol, with the linear absorption coefficient, α0, linking the molecular architecture to the thermal nonlinearity. The decrease in |n2eff| follows the reduction in the volumetric concentration of O–H oscillators, which decreases as the carbon chain length increases. We also performed control experiments at 800 nm, where all solvents are transparent and no spatial self-phase modulation rings were observed, supporting the predominantly thermal origin of the phenomenon at 1560 nm. These findings highlight resonant linear absorption as a central link between the chemical structure of the alcohols and their thermal nonlinear responses, strongly influencing the magnitude of the thermal effect across the investigated series.
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BibTeX
@article{campos2026origin,
title = {{Origin of Thermal Nonlinear Refraction in Alcohols Revealed by Spatial Self-Phase Modulation under Excitation at 1560 nm}},
author = {Cecília L. A. V. Campos and Pollyanna M. P. de Alencar and Gleison S. Bezerra and Jessica E. Q. Baustista and Leonardo de S. Menezes and Cid B. de Araújo and Anderson S. L. Gomes},
journal = {ACS Omega},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1021/acsomega.6c06785},
url = {https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/11/41/63322/5443644/Origin-of-Thermal-Nonlinear-Refraction-in-Alcohols},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Origin of Thermal Nonlinear Refraction in Alcohols Revealed by Spatial Self-Phase Modulation under Excitation at 1560 nm
AU - Cecília L. A. V. Campos
AU - Pollyanna M. P. de Alencar
AU - Gleison S. Bezerra
AU - Jessica E. Q. Baustista
AU - Leonardo de S. Menezes
AU - Cid B. de Araújo
AU - Anderson S. L. Gomes
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - ACS Omega
DO - 10.1021/acsomega.6c06785
UR - https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/11/41/63322/5443644/Origin-of-Thermal-Nonlinear-Refraction-in-Alcohols
AB - We investigated the relationship between molecular structure and nonlinear thermal responses of alcohols with different numbers of carbon atoms in their main chains using spatial self-phase modulation experiments at 1560 nm. The studied materials included the following aliphatic primary alcohols: methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol, and 1-octanol, in addition to isopropanol and phenylmethanol. The absolute values of the effective nonlinear refractive indices, |n2eff|, ranged from 9.33 × 10–5 cm2/W for methanol to 3.10 × 10–5 cm2/W for octanol, with the linear absorption coefficient, α0, linking the molecular architecture to the thermal nonlinearity. The decrease in |n2eff| follows the reduction in the volumetric concentration of O–H oscillators, which decreases as the carbon chain length increases. We also performed control experiments at 800 nm, where all solvents are transparent and no spatial self-phase modulation rings were observed, supporting the predominantly thermal origin of the phenomenon at 1560 nm. These findings highlight resonant linear absorption as a central link between the chemical structure of the alcohols and their thermal nonlinear responses, strongly influencing the magnitude of the thermal effect across the investigated series.
SN - 2470-1343
ER -