Third-order optical nonlinearities of PVP/Pd nanohybrids

Abstract Pd nanoparticles stabilized by polyvinylpyrrolidone were synthesized following mild reduction of palladium ion complexes. Their morphology and optical properties were characterized using Transmission Electron Microscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering and UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy to confirm the existence of monodispersed, low-dimensional single nanoparticles. Furthermore, their third-order nonlinear optical properties were investigated by means of the Z-scan technique, using 35 ps and 4 ns laser pulses, both in the visible (532 nm) and in the infrared (1064 nm). These results denote that the surface plasmon resonance is not significantly contributing to the nonlinear optical response of Pd nanoparticles. In contrast, a two photon absorption process was found to contribute to the observed response. The present results are discussed and compared with previous literature findings.