Solvent effect on the third order optical nonlinearity and optical limiting ability of betanin natural dye extracted from red beet root

•NLO of betanin in diff. organic solvents.•Solvent affect their NLO.•Candidate for OL applications.

We report on the solvent effect on the third order optical nonlinearity of betanin natural dye extracted from red beet root and their third order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties have been studied using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm. The third order nonlinearity of these samples are dominated by nonlinear absorption, which leads to strong optical limiting and their strength is influenced by the solvent used, suggesting that betanin natural dyes are promising candidate for the development of photonic nonlinear optic devices.