High-throughput calculations and experimental insights towards the development of potent thiazoline based functional materials

Thiazoline derivatives are attractive compounds due to their promising applications in nonlinear optics (NLO). In present study, four novel thiazoline derivatives 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d having chemical formulas C₂₆H₂₁N₅O₂S, C₂₇H₂₃ClN₄O₂S, C₂₈H₃₀ClN₃S and C₂₇H₂₄ClN₃O₂S, respectively, were synthesized and spectroscopically characterized using FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR, UV–vis, EIMS and elemental analysis. Computational chemistry tool DFT was utilized additionally at M06/6−311+G(d,p) level to obtain the optimized geometrizes of 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d and to countercheck the experimental outcomes. Excellent concurrence among experimental (FT-IR, UV–vis) and DFT computed (FT-IR, UV–vis) results confirmed the purity of 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d. Furthermore, NBO, FMO and MEP analysis were examined at M06/6−311+G(d,p) level. From NBO results, it is evident that more dominant transitions are from lowest gap π→π* which are in line with FMO results where successful charge transfer occurred from HOMO→LUMO. Global reactivity parameters showed that 5a is the most reactive, while 5c is the more stable molecule amongst all investigated compounds. Overall, all investigated molecules are soft enough to utilize in NLO properties. NLO properties of investigated compounds 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d are estimated using a range of different functionals including HF, B3LYP, LC-BLYP, CAM-B3LYP, M06 and M062X in coupling with 6−311+G(d,p) basis set. Furthermore, γ(−ω,ω,0,0) and γ(−2ω,ω,ω,0) indicating electro-optic Kerr effect and second harmonic generation, respectively, are also examined at 0.02389 and 0 nm. NLO results noticeably point out that 5a-d have eye-catching NLO characteristics and are satisfactory NLO aspirants for next generation optoelectronic devices.