A Novel PMMA Composite Containing Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes/Copper Phthalocyanine Hybrid and Its Optical Limiting Effect

Optical limiting materials have received much attention recently due to the broad applications of laser technology. Carbon nanotubes and phthalocyanines are two important optical limiting materials. To promote their practical application, a noncovalently functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT)/copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) hybrid was prepared by means of π-π stacking and then was introduced into PMMA matrix. The optical limiting responses of these PMMA composites were characterized by means of Q-switched Nd: YAG laser. Composite MWNT/CuPc/PMMA exhibited better optical limiting performance than composite CuPc/PMMA, but didn't exceed composite MWNT/PMMA. Besides, composite MWNT/CuPc/PMMA had a higher damage threshold than composite MWNT/PMMA.