Encapsulation of zinc tetrasulfophthalocyanine in sol-gel materials

Metallophthalocyanines (MPc) exhibit, among many useful properties, the ability to protect sensors against short, intense pulse deleterious to efficient sensor operation. For the successful application of this optical-limiting property, an important issue is the incorporation of MPc molecules in a matrix to fabricate a solid-state system. We report here the study of different concentrations of zinc tetrasulfophthalocyanine (ZnTSPc) encapsulated in silica xerogel matrix obtained by sol-gel technique. The resulted composites were transparent and homogeneous with appropriate optical quality. The trapping effect was checked by the characteristic absorption bands of ZnTSPc in the UV/Vis spectra and the different pore structures of the doped and undoped composites. The optical-limiting properties of the composites were measured at 532 nm with 8-ns pulses. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V All rights reserved.