Anomalous growth of multi-phased and multi-dimensional Manganese oxide–Metal (Fe, Co and Ni) oxide nanostructures: Synthesis and optical limiting properties

[Display omitted] •Manganese oxide–Metal (Fe, Co and Ni) oxide composites are prepared through a single step hydrothermal reaction.•Anomalous growth with multiple-phases and multi-dimensional morphology is noticed.•UV–Vis absorption spectra reveal their broad visible light absorptivity.•Optical limiting properties were studied through open aperture z-scan technique.•NLO studies suggest that these composites are potential optical limiters. A single step approach toward the hydrothermal synthesis of Manganese oxide–Metal (Fe, Co and Ni) oxide nanocomposites (Mn–O, Fe–MnO, Co–MnO and Ni–MnO) is demonstrated. The composites are prepared using precursors such as potassium permanganate, urea and metal chlorides which are abundant in nature, making this a cost effective and environmentally benignant synthetic route. An anomalous growth was observed in the prepared composites, which had a minimum of two major phases with two different morphologies such as nanowires, nanorods, nanoplates and nanosheets. Growth mechanism of the composite nanostructures is predicted from morphological characterizations. Linear optical studies reveal the broad band visible light absorbance of the composites. Open aperture z-scan experiments are conducted at 532nm using 5ns laser pulses to study the optical limiting properties of the composites. The anomaly observed in the growth, demonstrates the possibility of fabricating multi-phased composites with multi-dimensional nanostructures, which can be employed in the cost effective design and development of optical limiters and sensors based on manganese and other transition metal oxides.