Anew azo compound,(E)-N-methyl-4-{2[4-(dihexadecylamino) phenyl]azo}azopyridinium iodide, was prepared, its molecular structure is shown as follows:

The monolayer formed by spreading its chloroform solution on a pure water substrate (18℃, pH5.4) can be transferred onto hydrophilic quartz substrate with transfer ratio very close to unity. From second-harmonic generation experiment, the second-order molecular hyperpolarizability was evaluated to be 4.7× 10
-27esu.