Donor-Acceptor Type Reduced Graphene-Oxide and a Tin-Selenide Nanohybrid With Broad and Ultrafast Optical Limiting Properties

Abstract

The non-linear absorption properties of reduced graphene-oxide (RGO) have been studied extensively but the optical limiting (OL) performance of RGO was always confined to visible light. In this study, by anchoring SnSe nanosheets onto the surface of RGO, the reduced graphene-oxide and a tin-selenide (SnSe/RGO) nanohybrid shows a broader reverse saturable absorption (RSA), ranging from 400 to 800 nm, and an enhanced non-linear optical (NLO) response. The improvement of the NLO absorption response is attributed to a multiphoton-absorption process and electron-transfer effect in this artificially constructed donor-acceptor system. Pump-probe experiments suggest a response time of ~1.7–8 ps for the SnSe/RGO nanohybrid.