Solvation Effects on the Static and Dynamic First-Order Electronic and Vibrational Hyperpolarizabilities of Uracil: A Polarized Continuum Model Investigation

Electronic (β (e)) and vibrational (β (v)) first-order hyperpolarizabilities of uracil were determined in gas and water solution using the Coulomb-attenuating Density Functional Theory level with the Dunning's correlation-consistent aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. Frequency-dependent β (e) values were computed for the Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) and Electric Optical Pockels Effect (EOPE) nonlinear optical phenomena. The Polarized Continuum Model was employed to study the solvent effects on the electronic and vibrational properties. The introduction of solvation contributions increases the β (e)(static) value by ca. 110%. In comparison, smaller enhancements are found for the β (e)(EOPE) and β (e)(SHG) data evaluated at the typical wavelength of 694 nm (by 40–50%). The gas-water hyperpolarizability difference was rationalised through a density analysis study. The magnitudes of the vibrational first-order hyperpolarizabilities are comparable to their electronic counterparts and noticeably increase in solution: β (v)(EOPE) ~ β (e)(EOPE) in aqueous phase at λ = 694 nm. Analysis of the IR and Raman spectra is useful to elucidate the most important contributing modes to the vibrational first-order hyperpolarizabilities.