Double- and quintuple-decker phthalocyaninato chelates as optical limiters in solution and thin film

The rare-earth quintuple-decker phthalocyaninato chelates (3a and 3b) were synthesized from their parent rare-earth double-decker phthalocyaninato precursors (2b and 2a). After extensive structural elucidation, these complexes were subjected to various spectroscopic techniques to investigate their electronic behavior. It was found that complexes 3a and 3b existed as the oxidized forms. When investigating the optical limiting properties, all these complexes were found to exhibit reverse saturable absorption, with complex 2a showing a more enhanced open-aperture Z-Scan signature than complex 2b. Interestingly, complexes 3a and 3b (in solution) exhibited better open-aperture Z-Scan signatures than their parent rare-earth double-decker phthalocyaninato precursors (2b and 2a). However, thin films fabricated from these complexes did not show an improvement in the optical limiting properties when compared to 2a, 3a, 3b except for that which was prepared from 2b. This study shows the importance of extensive π-electron system in phthalocyaninato complexes for optical limiting applications. [Display omitted]