Sol-gel synthesis of stabilized silver nanoparticles in an organosiloxane matrix and its optical nonlinearity

•Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are synthesized via a chemical reduction of silver nitrate.•AgNPs are stabilized and embedded in an organosiloxane matrix via a sol-gel process (AgNP/sol).•The Z-scan study reveals the presence of strong optical nonlinearity in AgNP/sol.•Strong nonlinear scattering and reverse saturable absorption are the primary mechanisms responsible for optical limiting.