Synthesis and Characterization of the Nonlinear Optical Properties of Novel Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Semiconductor Lead Iodide Quantum Wells and Dots

Synthesis and characterization of the nonlinear optical properties of a class of semiconductors based on hybrid organic-inorganic two-dimensional semiconductors are being reported. A new simple synthetic route for the preparation and stabilization of lead iodide quantum dots (QD), based on (PbI6)(4-) structural units, provided a variety of appropriate solutions of zero-dimensional (OD) and suspensions of two-dimensional (2D) hybrid organic-inorganic semiconductors. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of both semiconducting systems were studied by means of the Z-scan technique under visible (532 nm) and infrared (1064 nm), 35 Ps and 4 ns laser excitation. The third-order susceptibility chi((3)) and second-order hyperpolarizability gamma were determined and are reported for the first time, showing gigantic enhancement in the case of the 2D material, reaching at least 5 orders of magnitude higher NLO response than that of the OD material QDs, suggesting their potential for photonic and optoelectronic applications and devices.