Study of the nonlinear optical properties and behavior in phenoxy-phthalocyanines liquid at nanosecond laser pulses

• We report a novel mild coordination method to synthesize Pc1 and Pc2.
• The all-optical switching of Pc2 and Pc1 for the same light intensity is studied.
• Pc1 and Pc2 exhibit strong optical limiting effect at nanosecond laser pulses.

The nonlinear optical properties of 2,9,16,23-phenoxy-phthalocyanine (Pc1) and 2,9,16,23-phenoxy-phthalocyanine-zinc (Pc2) in solution were investigated under excitation with nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. Based on five-level model, the nonlinear absorption in nanosecond regime was theoretically analyzed. The A-OS and OL behavior of Pc1 and Pc2 were further investigated with the pump–probe technique and transmission measurement technique. The results show that the A-OS response time is determined by the lifetime of the first triplet excited state of molecule, and Pc1 and Pc2 exhibit strong optical limiting effect at nanosecond laser pulses. These studies make the samples a promising possibility for device realization.