A new heteroleptic ruthenium sensitizer enhances the absorptivity of mesoporous titania film for a high efficiency dye-sensitized solar cell

A heteroleptic polypyridyl ruthenium complex, cis-Ru(4,4'-bis(5-octylthieno[3,2-b]thiophen-2-yl)-2,2'-bipyridine)(4,4'-dicarboxyl-2,2'-bipyridine)(NCS) 2, with a high molar extinction coefficient of 20.5 x 10(3) M-1 cm(-1) at 553 nm has been synthesized and demonstrated as a highly efficient sensitizer for a dye-sensitized solar cell, giving a power conversion efficiency of 10.53% measured under an irradiation of air mass 1.5 global ( AM 1.5G) full sunlight.

Sensitive, Label-Free Protein Assay Using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium Tetrafluoroborate Supported Microchip Electrophoresis with Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection

Based on the dimer-monomer equilibrium movement of the fluorescent dye Pyronin Y (PY), a rapid, simple, highly sensitive, label-free method for protein detection was developed by microchip electrophoresis with LIF detection. PY formed a nonfluorescent dimer induced by the premicellar aggregation of an anionic surfactant, SDS, however, the fluorescence intensity of the system increased dramatically when proteins such as BSA, bovine hemoglobin, cytochrome c, and trypsin were added to the solution due to the transition of dimer to fluorescent monomer. Furthermore, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMImBF(4)) instead of PBS was applied as running buffers in microchip electrophoresis.

White light emission on amplified spontaneous emission with dye content controlled polymer system

White light emission from amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) was realized by optically pumping fluorescent dye 4-(dicy-anomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB) doped semiconducting poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) polymer thin films. Two individual ASE peaks originating from DCJTB and PFO were observed by carefully controlling the DCJTB concentration in PFO. The studies of the ASE characteristics of DCJTB:PFO thin films lead to the conclusion that the DCJTB:PFO system with 0.3% w/w DCJTB dopant concentration in PFO showed the best ASE performance.

Monitoring catalytic degradation of dye molecules on silver-coated ZnO nanowire arrays by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Catalytic degradation of organic dye molecules has attracted extensive attention due to their high toxicity to water resources. In this paper, we propose a novel method for the fabrication of uniform silver-coated ZnO nanowire arrays. The degradation of typical dye molecule rhodamine 6G (R6G), as an example, is investigated in the presence of the as-prepared silver-coated ZnO nanowire arrays. The experimental results show that such composite nanostructures exhibit high catalytic activity, and the reaction follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. Furthermore, these nanowire arrays are desirable SERS substrates for monitoring the catalytic degradation of dye molecules. Compared with traditional UV-visible spectroscopy, SERS technology can reflect more truly the catalytic degradation process occurring on the surface of the catalysts.

Surface modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchips using a double-chained cationic surfactant for efficiently resolving fluorescent dye adsorption

This paper described a double-chained cationic surfactant, didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB). for dynamic surface modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchips to reduce the fluorescent dyes adsorption onto the microchannel. When DDAB with a high concentration was present as the dynamic modification reagent in the running and sample buffer, it not only reversed the direction of electroosmotic flow, but also efficiently suppressed fluorescent dyes pyronine Y (PY) or rhodamine 8 (RB) adsorption onto the chip surface. In addition, vesicles formed by DDAB in the buffer with higher surface charge density and electrophoretic mobility could provide wider migration window and potential for the separation of compounds with similar hydrophobicity. Factors affecting modification, such as pH and concentrations of the buffer, DDAB concentration in the buffer were investigated. Compared with commonly used single-chained cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, DDAB provided a better modification performance.

ZnO Nanorods as Scatterers for Random Lasing Emission from Dye Doped Polymer Films

A random lasing emission from 4-(dicy-anomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB) doped polystyrene (PS) thin films was realized by the scattering role of ZnO nanorods. The device was fabricated by spin-coating DCJTB doped PS on ZnO nanorods. The ZnO nanorods were grown on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) glass substrate by hydrothermal synthesis method. It can be seen that the device emits a resonance multimode peak at center wavelength of 630 nm with a mode line-width of less than 0.23 nm and exhibits threshold excitation intensity as low as 0.375 mJ pulse(-1) cm(-2). The agreement of the dependence of threshold pumped intensity on the excitation area with the random laser theory indicates that the lasing emission realized here is random laser. Our results demonstrate that the nanostructured ZnO nanorods are promising candidate as alternative sources of coherent light emission to realize organic lasers.

Improvement of amplified spontaneous emission performance by doping tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) in dye-doped polymer thin films

A well-known red fluorescent dye 4-(dicy-anomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)4H-pyran (DCJTB) was codoped with an electron transport organic molecule tris(8-hydroxyquinohne) aluminum (Alq3) in a host matrix of polystyrene (PS), and the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) was studied by optically pumping. It was found that the ASE performance was significantly improved by the introduction of Alq3. The Alq3:DCJTB:PS blending thin films showed a low threshold (2.4 mu J/pulse) and a high net gain coefficient (109.95 cm(-1)) compared with the pure DCJTB:PS system (threshold of 15.2 mu J/pulse and gain of 35.94 cm(-1)). The improvement of the ASE performance was considered to be attributable to the effective Foster energy transfer from Alq(3) to DCJTB. Our results demonstrate that the Alq(3):DCJTB could be a promising candidate as gain medium for red organic diode lasers.

Improved amplified spontaneous emission by doping of green fluorescent dye C545T in red fluorescent dye DCJTB : PS polymer films

Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) characteristics of a red fluorescent dye, 4-(dicy-anomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB), and a green fluorescent dye, (10-(2-benzothiazolyl)-1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H,11H-[1] benzopyrano [6,7,8-ij]quinohzin-11-one) (C545T) codoped polystyrene (PS) as the active medium were studied. It was found that the performance of ASE is greatly improved due to the introduction of C545T. By optimizing the concentrations of C545T and DCJTB in PS, an ASE threshold of 0.016 mJ pulse(-1), net gain of 52.71 cm(-1), and loss of 11.7 cm(-1) were obtained. The efficient Forster energy transfer from C545T to DCJTB was used to explain the improvement of the ASE performance in the coguest system.

Random lasing emission from a red fluorescent dye doped polystyrene film containing dispersed polystyrene nanoparticles

The authors report a random lasing emission from 4-(dicy-anomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran doped polystyrene thin films by introducing polystyrene nanoparticles. The aspects of concentration and diameter of polystyrene nanoparticles have been intensively investigated and found that the lasing occurs due to the scattering role of polystyrene nanoparticles. The devices emit a resonance multimode peak centered at a wavelength of 630 nm with a mode linewidth of less than 0.35 nm and exhibit threshold excitation intensity of as low as 0.06 mJ pulse(-1) cm(-2). The microscopic laser cavities formed by multiple scattering have been captured. The demonstration of random laser opens up the possibility of using organic scattering as alternative sources of coherent light emission.

Measurement of the single-color three-photon resonant ionization spectrum of atomic uranium under the "equivalent wavelength effect laser" interaction

Using Nd: YAG laser (532 nm) pumped mixed-dye laser. we obtained the output of this dye enhanced at the wavelength interval equivalent to that given by the copper vapor laser pumped dye laser. This measure favored is with the measurement of single-color three-photon resonant ionization spectrum of atomic uranium in the range of 562-586 nm,which is otherwise not efficiently covered by Nd: YAG laser pumped dye laser with any single dye. Thus 140 U I energy levels were obtained and the peaks of interest 575.814 nm and 575.836 rim were well resolved and their relative intensity determined.

A transparent thin film with hexagonal mesostructure containing rhodamine 6G

A transparent thin film was prepared by depositing the sol-get mixture for the synthesis of MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieve doped with rhodamine 6G (R6G) dye on glass substrates. The film of silica-surfactant-R6G materials, which was identified to possess hexagonally ordered mesostructure, was composed of nanocrystallites about 35 nm in diameter and 1-10 mum in thickness. Cleanness of the substrates, concentration of the sol-gel mixture and rate of evaporation of the solvent were the key factors affecting transparency and homogeneity of the film. Moreover, optical change and lack in dye aggregation were observed to the R6G-functionalized MCM-41 thin film in contrast with that in ethanol solution.

Degradation of polyimide induced by nitrogen laser irradiation

The degradation behavior of polyimide (PMDA-ODA) induced by nitrogen laser irradiation was studied. The changes in the surface morphology and the composition of the irradiated polyimide films were examined by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy. The initial reaction was achieved by photochemical degradation of polyimide in the highly electronic excited state by the absorption of a second 337 nm photon. Atmospheric oxygen sequentially reacted with the produced radicals to form a highly oxidized layer. The formation of carbonyl group was enhanced by the heat remaining on the irradiated polyimide film surfaces. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Excimer-laser irradiated polyimide films as temperature-sensitive materials

The temperature dependence of the resistivity of KrF laser irradiated polyimide films was studied. In all cases, the resistivity decreased with increasing temperature. The irradiated polyimide film exhibited a typical semiconducting property. This result indicated that the irradiated polyimide films can be used as temperature-sensitive materials. We demonstrated that both the sensitivity and the sensitive temperature range of the irradiated polyimide films can be altered by adjusting laser irradiation parameters. The intrinsic relationship between the temperature coefficient of the resistivity and irradiation condition was interpreted in terms of the microstructural change. The result provided a new insight into the fundamental aspects of laser irradiated polyimide film structure and a method of preparing temperature-sensitive materials. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Photoluminescent properties of dye-doped poly(N-vinyleabzole) (PVK) in microcavity

A surface emitting microcavity was formed by sandwiching a polymer film containing poly(N-vinyleabzole) (PVK). 8-hydroxyquinoline aluminium (Alq(3)) and 4-(Dicyanome thylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-Pyran(DCM) between a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) with a reflectivity of 99% and a silver film. The sample was optically pumped with 250 ps pulses at 2 Hz repetition rate by a 355 nm line of the third harmonic of a mode-lock Nd:YAG laser. The lasing phenomenon was observed in DCM-doped PVK microcavity. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) was 3 nm with the peak wavelength at 602 nm. The threshold energy for lasing was estimated to be about 3 mu J. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

New high-lying odd-parity excited levels of atomic uranium

We report the measurement of 112 new high-lying odd-parity excited levels of U I in the energy region 35 678-36 696 cm(-1). These levels were obtained with a setup composed of a Nd:YAG-laser-pumped pulsed dye laser system, an atomic beam device, a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, and a boxcar integrator. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America [S0740-3224(99)02309-7] OCIS code: 300.0300.