Stabilization of Black Phosphorous Quantum Dots in PMMA Nanofiber Film and Broadband Nonlinear Optics and Ultrafast Photonics Application

The stabilization of black phosphorous quantum dots (BPQDs) for optical application under ambient conditions is highly challenging. Here, a facile approach is presented to substantially stabilize BPQDs by making a uniform BPQDs/polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) composite nanofiber film via an electrospinning technique. As verified by femtosecond laser Z-scan measurement, the BPQDs/PMMA composite nanofiber film that has been stored for three months exhibits almost the same nonlinear optical properties as the fresh BPQDs. Additionally, the BPQDs/PMMA composite nanofiber film demonstrates broadband nonlinear optical response ranging from the visible bandwidth (400 nm) to the mid-IR bandwidth (at least 1930 nm). By employing the BPQDs/PMMA composite nanofiber film as an optical saturable absorber, an ultrashort pulse with the pulse duration of approximate to 1.07 ps centered at the wavelength of 1567.6 nm is generated in a mode-locked fiber laser. These results suggest that the BPQDs/PMMA composite nanofiber film can combine the advantage of convenient integration and mitigation of the drawback of the easy oxidation of black phosphorous and pave the way for BP-based practical optoelectronic devices.