Dendrimeric molecules are multiply branched compounds that chemists have investigated keenly for their potential applications in medical diagnostics, molecular recognition, catalysis, and photoactive device engineering. Now Mark Humphrey of the Australian National University in Canberra and colleagues have developed organometallic versions of these compounds that are more stable than others. They investigated alkynylmetal complexes because of their potential to form materials with non-linear optical characteristics. Novel NLO materials will be crucial for the generation of opto-electronic computational and communications devices as well as in new types of sensor protection from laser threats.
Read on…