Novel Nanocomposite Materials Based on Mesomorphic Glasses of Metal Alkanoates: Structure and Nonlinear Optical Properties

Abstract

Novel nanocomposite materials based on an ordered mesomorphic glass of metal alkanoates have been proposed for fast transfer and processing of optical information. Metal alkanoate salts when heated form a smectic mesophase which can be easily supercooled forming an ordered mesomorphic glass at room temperature. The glass has the structure of the smectic-A phase: electrostatic cation–anion layers alternate with bilayers of alkane chains. The mesomorphic glass is a universal matrix for organic and inorganic nanoinclusions and nanosized crystals. In this paper, the structure of the cells of the mesomorphic glasses with various inclusions and their nonlinear optical properties, which become evident upon the impact of pulsed laser radiation with an intensity of up to 5.5 MW/cm2, have been investigated.