Transparent multi-walled carbon nanotube-silica composite prepared by hot-pressed sintering and its nonlinear optical properties

Transparent multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT)-fused silica bulk composites were prepared by the hot-pressing technique. The results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) proved that MWNTs were relatively well dispersed in the fused silica matrix. The linear transmittance of the composites reached 70% in the visible light region and about 76% near 1100 nm. The z-scan method was used to investigate the nonlinear optical properties of the composites, which exhibited optical limiting properties at 800 nm at the incident power of 30 mW and 50 mW. The main mechanism of the optical limiting performances of the composites was deduced to be nonlinear absorption. The composites may be a good candidate for optical limiting application.