Synthesis and nonlinear optical absorption of novel chalcone derivative compounds

3-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-1-(4-(4-(hydroxymethyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)phenyl)prop-2-en-1-one was synthesized and its third order nonlinear optical properties have been investigated using a z-scan technique with nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. The nonlinear absorption behavior of the compound in chloroform presents a distinct difference at different laser intensity. Interestingly, the compound showed a switchover from saturable absorption (SA) to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) with the increase of excitation intensity. Our studies suggest that compound could be used as a potential candidate for optical device applications such as optical limiters. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.