Optical properties of Rh6G:C337 dye mixture in the sol-gel silica matrix

Abstract

The mixed dye method has received considerable attention because it is promising method to improve the efficiency of dye lasers and broaden the laser emission spectrum [1–3]. In a dye mixed solution, the excitation energy can be efficiently transferred from the donor to the acceptor. Two mechanisms involved in such an energy transfer are: (i) the radiative transfer, that is, the absorption of donor emission by an acceptor, and (ii) nonradiative transfer, that is, the excitation transfer takes place before the excited donor emits. The radiative energy transfer mechanism is found to be the dominant mechanism in dilute solutions [4, 5]. It is well known that the intermolecular energy transfer depends strongly on factors such as dye molecule concentrations, spectral overlap between the acceptor absorption spectra and the donor fluorescence spectra [6, 7]. Most of the studies conducted so far report investigation of energy transfer between dyes in liquid media. To our knowledge, no work has been reported on the energy transfer of Rh6G:C337 dye mixture in the sol-gel silica matrix. In this paper, the optical properties of Rh6G: C337 dye doped sol-gel silica matrices are investigated. The dye doped sol-gel silica samples were prepared by hydrolysis and polycondensation of tetraethosysilane (TEOS), with formamide as a