Silicon-phthalocyanine bonding with SiO2 matrix and its strong optical limiting effects

Silicon-phthalocyanine (SiPc) is chemically bonded to 3-aminopropitriethoxysilane (NH₂(CH₂)₃Si(OC₂H₅)₃, KH550) by the nucleophilic substituted reaction between the active chlorine of silicon dichlorine phthalocyanine (SiPcCl₂) and amino-group of KH550. The reacted product is hybridized with 3-glycidoxypropitrimethoxysilane (CH₂OCHCH₂O(CH₂)₃Si(OCH₃)₃, KH560) with sol-gel processing to form sol-gel inorganic material with good physical-chemical and optical properties. Due to tethering SiPc to the network, the aggregation of SiPc is effectively prevented in sol-gel derived matrix, and the doping concentration of SiPc in the form of monomer in the matrix is greatly enhanced. The cross-linkage of SiPcCl₂ and KH550 is estimated and confirmed with FT-IR spectra. The optical limiting effects (OLE) of the gel with different content of SiPc are investigated with a frequency double Q-switched Nd₃₊:YAG laser of 8 nsec. pulse.