# Advanced optical waveguide design via encapsulation of 2,4,6-triphenylpyrylium chloride in oxide glasses

**Authors:** Eleni Agapaki, Ioannis Konidakis, Egor Evlyukhin, Klytaimnistra Katsara, Georgios Kenanakis, David King, Haesook Han, Pradip K. Bhowmik, Emmanuel Stratakis

PMC · DOI: 10.1039/d5nr02213d · 2025-07-31

## TL;DR

A new method encapsulates a pyrylium salt in oxide glasses to create advanced optical waveguides with enhanced light transmission.

## Contribution

A low-temperature post-melting encapsulation method for integrating pyrylium salts into oxide glasses with silver nanoparticles is introduced.

## Key findings

- Encapsulated pyrylium salt retains structural and optical properties within the glass matrix.
- Silver nanoparticles enhance light transmission through scattering effects.
- The composite material shows robust waveguiding characteristics suitable for optoelectronic devices.

## Abstract

Pyrylium ion (C5H5O+)-based salts exhibit distinctive optical properties that can be tuned by external stimuli such as temperature and pressure, making them suitable materials for various nanoscale optoelectronic applications. However, their practical use has been limited by their solid powder form, which poses challenges for integration into realistic devices. Herein, we present a low-temperature, post-melting encapsulation method for the incorporation of a 2,4,6-triphenylpyrylium chloride salt within transparent phosphate glasses containing dispersed silver nanoparticles. This synthesis approach enables spatially controlled vitrification of high-refractive index pyrylium pathways within the glass matrix. The encapsulated salt retains its structural and optical properties, while the presence of randomly dispersed silver nanoparticles enhances light transmission upon scattering effects. The resulting pyrylium salt-glass composites exhibit robust waveguiding characteristics, positioning this technique as a promising route for the fabrication of advanced nano-engineered optoelectronic devices.

Post-glass melting encapsulation of pyrylium ion based salts in inorganic oxide glasses for the development of advanced optical waveguides.

## Linked entities

- **Chemicals:** 2,4,6-triphenylpyrylium chloride (PubChem CID 2734003), pyrylium ion (PubChem CID 9548819)

## Full-text entities

- **Chemicals:** silver (MESH:D012834), phosphate (MESH:D010710), 2,4,6-triphenylpyrylium chloride (-), oxide (MESH:D010087), salt (MESH:D012492)

## Figures

5 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12355649/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12355649