SOL-GEL MATERIALS EMBEDDING FULLERENE DERIVATIVES FOR OPTICAL LIMITING

Fullerene derivatives with high solubilities in polar solvents and abl e to covalently link to a silica matrix, have been prepared. Optical l imiting (OL) properties of these molecules in solution have been measu red and the comparison with the behavior of C-60 shows that their perf ormance is better in the near-infrared region. This behavior can be un derstood on the basis of the reverse saturable absorption mechanism wh ich determines the OL properties of these molecules. The sol-gel metho d is used to include the fullerene derivatives in a silica matrix and allows one to obtain films and bulk materials. The OL properties of th e latter are also reported.