Synthesis and Optical-Limiting Behavior of Hybrid Inorganic-Organic Materials from the Sol-Gel Processing of Organofullerenes

Homogeneous fullerene-containing glasses, obtained by sol–gel processing, exhibit very promising optical-limiting properties (see picture). The chemical grafting of the fullerene derivatives to the silica matrix guarantees nearly perfect dispersions of the organic dye in the polymer. The nonlinear optical transmission properties of the solid materials compare well with those of solution samples.