Copper phthalocyanine bonding with gel and their optical properties

Abstract (Tetracarboxyphalocyaninato)copper(II), (CuPc(COOH) 4 ) is incorporated in gel by a sol–gel process with using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (NH 2 (CH 2 ) 3 Si(OC 2 H 5 ) 3 , APTS) and 3-glycidoxypropl-trimethoxysilane (CH 2 OCHCH 2 O(CH 2 ) 3 Si(OCH 3 ) 3 , GPTMS) as precursors. The starting compound and the gel are in the dimer forms of copper phthalocyanine, which are identified from their UV/visible spectra. The aggregation of copper phthalocyanine dyes from sol to gel is effectively prevented by tethering them to sol–gel matrix through the reaction of CuPc(COOH) 4 on APTS. The linkage of CuPc(COOH) 4 and APTS is estimated and confirmed with FT-IR spectra. The primary optical limiting effects (OLE) of the gel induced by dimers are investigated with a frequency double Q-switched Nd 3+ :YAG laser of 8 ns pulse.