Preparation, characterization, and nonlinear optical properties of graphene oxide thin film doped with low chirality metallic SWCNTs

Abstract

We present non-linear optical properties of graphene oxide (GO) doped with low chirality metallic single walled carbon nanotubes (m-SWCNTs) thin films. The weight percentage of the m-SWCNTs was 5, 10, and 20 wt%. High-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), high resolution scanning electron microscope (HRSEM), Raman, and UV–vis spectroscopy were used to characterize the prepared samples. We have investigated their nonlinear optical properties using open and closed Z-scan technique at Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm laser pulses (7 ns, 10 Hz). The nonlinear absorption coefficient β, nonlinear refractive index n2, and third order nonlinear susceptibility χ3 were calculated. The results show that all samples exhibit reverse saturable absorption (RSA) because of increasing metallicity and/or partial reduction of GO during laser illumination. The nonlinearity response of the GO/m-SWCNT films increase as the m-SWCNTs percentage increases. The high non-linear optical parameters of the GO/m-SWCNTs films make them as superior candidates for near-infrared (NIR) laser protection applications.