Penta(zinc porphyrin)[60]fullerenes: Strong reverse saturable absorption for optical limiting applications

Penta(zinc porphyrin)[60]fullerene, in which a fullerene (C-60) with attached five electron donating zinc porphyrin moieties was synthesized. The nonlinear optical response was studied together with reference penta (trimethylsilyl)C-60 and triazole-zinc porphyrin compounds. The second and third harmonic generation in both guest-host polymeric films deposited by means of spin coating technique and films obtained by physical vapor deposition technique was investigated via Maker fringe technique employing 30 ps laser pulses at 1064 nm. The second and third order susceptibilities as well as second hyperpolarizabilities were determined. Penta(zinc porphyrin)[60]fullerene in solutions and PMMA films demonstrated strong reverse saturable absorption in Z-scan measurements employing the laser double frequency. The nonlinear absorption coefficient and imaginary part of cubic susceptibility were obtained for solutions and films. The second hyperpolarizability and nonlinear absorption cross section were extracted as well. Penta(zinc porphyrin)[60]fullerene shows attractive optical limiting response property suitable for photonic applications.