Luminescence properties of rhodamine 6G intercalated in surfactant/clay hybrid thin solid films

To develop the solid-state laser oscillator based on laser dye compounds, the incorporation of rhodamine 6G (R6G, a laser dye) in cetyltrimethylammonium (CTA+) cationic surfactant/montmorillonite clay hybrid (HpC) thin solid films was investigated. The R6G/HpC samples were prepared by immersing the HpC films into a R6G aqueous solution with various concentration. X-ray diffraction patterns of the films of HpC, measured before and after the intercalation of R6G, proved the coexistence of both the dye and surfactant in clay interlayer spaces. All prepared thin films exhibited luminescence. It indicates that CTA+ molecules play a role as a partial suppressor of the aggregation of R6G molecules which prevents fluorescence. Moreover, the luminescence property of the present thin films was observed to be dependent on the co-intercalated degree of R6G molecules, indicating that the R6G intercalating in HpC interlayer space molecules exist as two or more luminescence species in the clay interlayer space.