Linear and Femtosecond Nonlinear Optical Properties of Soluble Pyrrolo[1,2-a] Quinoxalines

•Third order nonlinear optical properties were studied for novel quinoxalines molecules.•Linear optical properties were investigated using TD-DFT calculations and absorption spectroscopy.•The highest values for χ(3), χ & n2 are obtained for the PQ-a derivative.•χ(3) = 4.35 × 10−14 esu, χ = 4.41 × 10−31 esu, and n2 = 8.44 × 10−16 cm2/W.