Mercaptopyridine-substituted indium, zinc, and metal-free phthalocyanines: nonlinear optical studies in solution and on polymer matrices

In this article, the nonlinear optical characterizations and optical limiting properties of metal-free (2), zinc (3), and indium (4) tetra 4-(2-mercaptopyridine) phthalocyanines are discussed. Nonlinear optical properties of the samples were evaluated using Z-scan at 532 nm and 10 ns pulse in CHCl3, and doped on poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PBC) thin films. Thin films for 2, 3, and 4 are represented as 2-PBC, 3-PBC, and 4-PBC, respectively. We observed two-photon absorption (2PA) and strong reverse saturable absorption as the dominant mechanisms at nanosecond laser excitation in solution and thin films. By virtue of the magnitude of absorption coefficients and other nonlinear optical parameters estimated in this work, sample 4 was found to exhibit strongest nonlinear optical properties followed by 3, while 2 is the weakest nonlinear absorber of the studied samples. Large third-order susceptibility (1.46 × 10−9 esu and 7.74 × 10−10 esu) and hyperpolarizability (2.13 × 10−28 and 8.37 × 10−29 esu) were estimated for 4-PBC and 3-PBC, respectively. Our studies show that these molecules are suitable candidates for practical passive optical limiters.Original publication is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00958972.2015.107723