Design rules for the large two-photon absorption diketopyrrolopyrrole-based quadrupolar symmetrical chromophores

Two-photon absorption of a series of symmetrical diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives is studied by means of density functional theory applied to second-order response function. Several important issues in modeling are highlighted which must be addressed for a reliable reproduction of the experimental results. A comparison of the theoretical results with the experimental ones indicates that the computed two-photon absorption (TPA) cross sections show a good agreement for the three-state model in case of symmetrical quadrupolar DPP derivatives with donor ending groups. Although the results of TPA cross section observed for the systems with strong electron accepting ending groups seem to be overestimated for the three-state model. At the same time using an algorithm for the direct calculation of the third-order processes by the solving dynamic coupled-perturbed Hartree–Fock equation shows relatively good qualitative results for both donor and acceptor ending groups; however, it was found to be less accurate quantitatively for the already published experimental results. Thus, to obtain a valid overview, supposedly, both methods have to be considered. In general, in the present paper, a strategy toward molecular tailoring of large TPA cross-sectional materials is described, which can be extremely useful tool to predict materials’ properties prior to synthesis and measurements.