Incorporation of highly dispersed gold nanoparticles into the pore channels of mesoporous silica thin films and their ultrafast nonlinear optical response

An ultrafast nonlinear optical Kerr response as fast as 190 fs is reported for mesoporous-silica-composite thin films loaded with highly dispersed gold nano-particles. These are synthesized by a newly developed strategy, in which gold is introduced into the mesochannels of the silica by a surface-modification scheme coupled with a neutralization reaction route (see Figure).