Third-order nonlinear optical responses in derivatives of phenylhydrazone by Z-scan and optical limiting studies-influence of noble metal nanoparticles

• The third-order NLO responses new phenylhydrazone derivatives were studied.
• Metal nanoparticles were prepared by laser ablation technique.
• Metal nanoparticles are promising additive to enhance NLO properties.
• The materials show well optical limiting properties at 532 nm.
• These compounds are a promising class of materials for the photonic applications.

Here we report a study on the third-order nonlinear optical properties of a new class of phenylhydrazones and the influence of silver and gold metal nanoparticles on their nonlinear response. Metal nanoparticles were prepared by laser ablation method. Single beam Z-scan technique with a 7 ns, 10 Hz Nd: YAG laser pulses at 532 nm were employed for the measurements. The compounds exhibit well optical limiting properties. Hence, these compounds are a promising class of materials for the optical device applications.