Part 1. Novel second-order nonlinear optical carbon-60-based chromophores. Part 2. Cyclic polyeneynes: A synthetic approach to single-walled carbon nanotubes

It is well known that C60 is a great electron acceptor; cyclic voltammetry and metal reduction experiments have shown that the carbon cage can accept up to 6 electrons forming a hexaanion. Several proposed applications of C60 and it derivatives take advantage of their electron affinity: for example, derivatives are used as electron acceptors in polymer-supported photovoltaic devices, artificial photosynthetic systems, superconductors, organic metals, organic ferromagnets, etc. In the field of photonic devices, organic nonlinear optical (NLO) materials may become attractive due to several advantages over inorganic materials.;Organic NLO chromophores are generally composed of an electron donor and electron acceptor couple connected through a conjugated pi-system, but some homoconjugated examples are known in the literature. We envisaged that C60 being a good electron acceptor could give rise to a new class of organic NLO chromophores if appropriately functionalized. The first part of this thesis describes the synthesis and physical properties of some C 60 based NLO chromophores.;The second part will be concerned with an approach to a chemically controlled synthesis of single walled carbon nanotubes. The strategy as well as the synthesis of building blocks to build tubular structures will be illustrated.