Synthesis and tunable nonlinear absorption properties of Zn3Mo2O9 nanosheet ceramic material

Zn3Mo2O9 nanosheet ceramic material was synthesized for the first time by using a hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the Zn3Mo2O9 nanosheet ceramic material crystallized in a monoclinic crystal structure. The scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscopy analyses demonstrate that the average diameter and thickness of Zn3Mo2O9 nanosheets are about 700 nm and 20 nm, respectively. The photoluminescence spectra show that the band gap of the Zn3Mo2O9 nanosheet ceramic is about 2.86 eV. The Zn3Mo2O9 nanosheet ceramic was dispersed in methyl methacrylate (MMA) to prepare an organic glass, and the MMA was polymerized to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The nonlinear absorption (NLA) properties of the Zn3Mo2O9/PMMA organic glasses were investigated by an open-aperture Z-scan technique. When the incident energy is in the range of 50–65 μJ, the Zn3Mo2O9/PMMA organic glasses transfer from saturable absorption (SA) to reverse saturable absorption (RSA). In the case of the higher incident energy (E = 70 and 75 μJ), SA is totally suppressed and RSA is dominant. A four-energy-level model was used to analyze the NLA mechanism of the Zn3Mo2O9/PMMA organic glasses. The Zn3Mo2O9 is promising for optical devices such as optical limiters, optical shutters, lasers and optical switches.