Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 March 2011
A dark red colored composite of C60 and (zinc, bismuth) borate glass was synthesized by solid-state reaction between C60 and frits of the glass at 650–700 °C in an argon atmosphere completely free from oxygen and moisture. An unusual change in color and the absorption spectrum of the glass upon composite formation with C60 indicated that the incorporated C60 underwent some sort of interaction with the glass. Such fullerene molecules bonded to relatively smaller units of bismuth-boron network, were extracted out by eluting a powdered sample with toluene. The composite itself and the toluene extract there of, were then characterized by ultraviolet–visible–near-infrared, infrared, and mass spectral studies. The results showed that the bismuth ions of the bismuth-boron network were bonded with the C60 cages through direct donation of their lone pair of electrons to the latter. The phenomenon of addition of boron to C60 via an “oxygen bridge,” which was observed in our earlier work, was also detected in this case. Studies on the nonlinear optical properties of the composite exhibited a moderate value of third order nonlinear susceptibility χ(3) (1.5 × 10−11 esu) and optical limiting properties of the composite. The result showed that the material had the prospect of being used in nonlinear optical devices.