Self-assembly of cadmium metasilicate nanowires as a broadband optical limiter

Abstract Cadmium metasilicate nanowires (CdSiO 3 NWs) have been synthesized through a facile, eco-friendly, low-cost water–ethanol mixed-solution hydrothermal route. The transmission electron microscopy measurements of as-prepared samples indicate that the CdSiO 3 NWs with diameters in the range of 10–60 nm and lengths of more than 1 μm were constructed by self-assembly of 5–10-nm CdSiO 3 nanoparticles with good crystallinity. The monoclinic phase formation of the sample is studied in detail by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermo gravimetric analysis. The results indicate that a pure monoclinic phase of CdSiO 3 can be obtained by a hydrothermal route without further calcinations and SiO 4 tetrahedra were the main constituents of the CdSiO 3 NWs. The nanosecond optical limiting (OL) effects were characterized by using an open-aperture (OA) Z -scan technique with 4-ns laser pulses at both 532 and 1064 nm. Theses CdSiO 3 NWs displayed an excellent OL performance at 532 and 1064 nm, which was better than carbon nanotubes, a benchmark optical limiter. Input-fluence dependent scattering measurements suggested than nonlinear scattering played an important role in the observed optical limiting behavior in CdSiO 3 NWs at 532 and 1064 nm. More significantly, the NLO performance in CdSiO 3 NWs incorporated solid silica gel glass has been improved in comparison to those dispersed in water. The unique structure and excellent OL property render these CdSiO 3 NWs competitors in the realms of optical limiting applications.