OICC Press International Nano Letters 2228-5326 2 1 (December 2012) 2012 07 12 Tailored hybrid hyperbranched polyglycidol-silica nanocomposites with high third-order nonlinearity 10.1186/2228-5326-2-13 EN Irina Postnova Chemical Department, Far East Federal University, Vladivosotk, 690050, RU Alexander Bezverbny Institute of Automation and Control Processes, Far East Department, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, 690041, RU Sergey Golik Institute of Automation and Control Processes, Far East Department, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, 690041, RU Yury Kulchin Institute of Automation and Control Processes, Far East Department, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, 690041, RU Haiqing Li The WCU Center for Synthetic Polymer Bioconjugate Hybrid Materials, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, KR Jing Wang The WCU Center for Synthetic Polymer Bioconjugate Hybrid Materials, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, KR Il Kim The WCU Center for Synthetic Polymer Bioconjugate Hybrid Materials, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, KR Chang-Sik Ha The WCU Center for Synthetic Polymer Bioconjugate Hybrid Materials, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, KR Yury Shchipunov The WCU Center for Synthetic Polymer Bioconjugate Hybrid Materials, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, KR Institute of Chemistry, Far East Department, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, 690022, RU Journal Article 2012 07 12 Abstract One of the most convenient techniques for optical material fabrication is the sol–gel processing. It can be performed at low temperature that enables one to entrap even relatively unstable organic substances into silica matrix at the nanometer scale, thus developing homogeneous hybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposite materials of various functionalities. Here, novel hybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposites with good optical transparency and high third-order nonlinearity were prepared biomimetically through the mineralization of dendritic macromolecules (hyperbranched polyglycidols) using a compatible ethylene glycol-containing silica precursor. The synthesis was performed at neutral pH media in aqueous solutions without addition of organic solvents at ambient conditions owing to the catalysis of processing. Polyglycidols provided also the formation of gold nanoparticles localized in their core. They served as reducing and stabilizing agents. It is shown that trace amounts of nanoparticles could regulate nonlinear properties of a nanocomposite. High nonlinearity manifests itself in a supercontinuum generation at remarkably short lengths ca. 1 mm. The phenomenon consists of filamentous intense white lighting due to the spectral broadening of initial ultrashort (femtosecond) laser pulses propagating through the material. The developed hybrid nanocomposites possessing large nonlinearity, high-speed optical response, stability under intense lighting, low-cost, and easy preparation are promising for a diverse range of applications as active components for all-optical signal processing from chemical sensing to biological cell imaging and lighting control in telecommunication.