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3rd order optical nonlinearity enhancement of halochromic phenol red dye immobilized in PVA/silica hybrid host matrix

  • Original Paper: Characterization methods of sol-gel and hybrid materials
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Abstract

In this study, we investigate the third-order nonlinear optical properties of phenol red (PR) solutions and their hybrid composites, analyzing a PR solution with a pH of 7.56, a zwitterionic PR solution (PRz) with a pH of 1.52, and a PR-doped PVA/silica (PR-PS) hybrid composite made using an acid-catalysed sol-gel method and drop-casting technique. The PR-PS thin film exhibits a smooth and homogeneous surface, with a root mean square roughness (RMS) of 0.816 nm and an average roughness, Ra of 0.648 nm. FESEM was employed to analyze the surface morphology and thickness of the thin film, which was found to be approximately 80 µm. UV-vis analysis demonstrates that PR in the matrix is in its zwitterionic form, with absorption peaks at 450 nm and 515 nm. The PVA/silica hybrid matrix exhibits an enhancement in third-order nonlinear susceptibility, χ(3) by 83.94%. Moreover, our finding also indicates that the PR-PS hybrid composite’s β being being 79.09% and 99.37% larger than that of the PR and PRz samples, respectively. These results suggest that the PR-PS thin film is a promising material for photonic applications, such as nonlinear optical switching devices and optical limiting applications, due to its enhanced nonlinear optical properties.

Graphical Abstract

The diagram above shows the method used to synthesize resulting phenol red (PR) dye immobilized inorganic-organic hybrid matrix along with the results from its cross-sectional image from FESEM, AFM, nonlinear absorption and refraction results from Z-Scan.

Highlights

  • We demonstrate the synthesis of PR immobilized with PVA/silica host matrix (PR-PS) via the acid-catalysed sol-gel approach.

  • FESEM is used to measure both the thickness of the thin film (~80 µm) and the surface morphology of the PR-PS thin film.

  • The third-order nonlinearity of PR, its zwitterionic form (PRz) and PR-PS such as nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction is investigated, and PVA/silica host matrix are found to be enhancing the nonlinearity properties of PR dye.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Research Creativity and Management Office (RCMO) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for the research facilities, and the funding through the Short Term Grant Scheme under account number 304/CINOR/6315370 (Code no.: PO5216, Ref. no.: 2021/0067) to conduct this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nano Optoelectronics Research and Technology (INOR), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

    Alex Teh Boon Li, Muhammad Aizat Abu Bakar, Sabah M. Mohammad & Mundzir Abdullah

  2. School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

    Ahmad Fairuz Omar & Mundzir Abdullah

  3. Centre for Innovative Nanostructure & Nanodevices (COINN), Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia

    Mohamad Shuaib Mohamed Saheed

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610, Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia

    Mohamad Shuaib Mohamed Saheed

  5. Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), 71800, Bandar Baru Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

    Nur Athirah Mohd Taib

  6. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

    Ganesan Krishnan

  7. Laser Centre, Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

    Ganesan Krishnan

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  1. Alex Teh Boon Li
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Li, A.T.B., Bakar, M.A.A., Omar, A.F. et al. 3rd order optical nonlinearity enhancement of halochromic phenol red dye immobilized in PVA/silica hybrid host matrix. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 107, 523–535 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-023-06153-3

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