Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 September 2012
Optical limiting, degenerate four-wave mixing and transient absorption experiments have been performed on a neat liquid lead substituted phthalocyanine. The photophysical mechanisms responsible for the good optical limiting observed in other phthalocyanine solutions are maintained in this pure liquid despite its different peripheral substitution pattern. The liquid is shown to have excited state absorption cross sections that exceed those of the ground state through much of the visible spectrum. Hybrid absorptive/refractive nonlinear response is demonstrated to contribute to both the four-wave mixing and optical limiting response. The mechanism and states responsible are discussed.