Conjugated macrocycles as active materials in nonlinear optical processes: optical limiting effect with phthalocyanines and related compounds.

An overview of the optical limiting (OL) processes in phthalocyanines and related compounds is presented, particularly a description of the synthesis and relevant optical properties of a series of axially substituted indium(III), titanium(IV), phthalo- and naphthalocyanines, and octaarylporphyrazines. Several techniques, such as transient absorption, Z-scan, and degenerate four-wave mixing, were used to assess the optical properties and OL performance of the investigated compounds. The versatility of the methods of organic synthesis leads to the achievement of effective systems in terms of OL performance through the appropriate combination and modulation of several structural components. The chemistry of the macrocycles here considered allows the variation of the different chemical features, such as the degree of electronic conjugation of the macrocycle and the nature of the ring substituents, the central atom, and the ligands attached to the central atom. Copyright 2002 The Japan Chemical Journal Forum and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Chem Rec 2: 129-148, 2002: Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI 10.1002/tcr.10024