The nonlinear absorption in new lanthanide double decker pyridine-based phthalocyanines in solution and thin films

Abstract The optical behavior of bis-{2(3), 9(10), 16(17), 23(24)-(tetrapyridin-4-yloxy phthalocyaninato)} lanthanum (III) (2) and its ytterbium (3) counterpart in dimethyl sulfoxide are presented and compared to bis-{1(4), 8(11), 15(18), 22(25)-(tetrapyridin-4-yloxy phthalocyaninato)} ytterbium (III) (4). We report on the third-order susceptibility, second-order hyperpolarizability and the limiting threshold values. The nonlinear optical limiting threshold values of complexes 2, 3 and 4 showed improvement in the solid state (thin films), with complex 4 giving the best value at 0.033 J cm−2.