Electronic-Excitation Energy Transfer between Dye Molecules Adsorbed in One-Dimensional Photonic Crystals

Electronic-excitation energy transfer between molecules of Coumarin 7 (donor) and Rhodamine B (acceptor) have been experimentally investigated in one-dimensional photonic crystals based on oxidized mesoporous silicon and in a similar matrix, which does not possess the properties of a photonic crystal. The efficiencies of excitation transfer between donor and acceptor molecules have been determined based on the donor-fluorescence quenching and sensitized acceptor luminescence. It is established that the efficiency of electronic-excitation energy transfer in a photonic crystal increases in comparison with that for porous silicon.     

Nonradiative triplet-singlet transfer of electronic excitation energy between dye molecules in the vicinity of the silver-film surface

Nonradiative triplet-singlet transfer of electronic-excitation energy between molecules of organic dyes (erythrosine and methylene blue) in a polymer film that is deposited on the surface of a silver layer is experimentally studied. It is demonstrated that the energy-transfer efficiency in such a system is lower than the efficiency in the samples without metal layers. The results of the proposed mathematical model are in qualitative agreement with the experimental data.     

Energy transfer between adsorbates by means of surface plasmons

Nonradiative electron excitation energy transfer between the molecules adsorbed by the plane conducting surface is investigated. It is demonstrated that the mechanism with participation of surface plasmons can be efficient for energy transfer in such system. A dependence of the energy transfer rate in the donor-acceptor adsorbate pair on the distance and anisotropy parameters is established. The efficiencies of the direct dipoledipole and plasmon channels of energy transfer are compared. The dominating (exceeding by 1–2 orders of magnitude the energy transfer rate in a system without conducting bodies) contribution of the plasmon mechanism to the total energy transfer rate is detected when molecules are close to the metal surface.     

Enhancement of fluorescence of porous silicon upon saturation by liquid crystal

The fluorescence of samples of porous silicon of various morphologies that are filled with a liquid crystal (LC), n-pentyl-n′-cyanobiphenyl (5CB), is studied. The fluorescence spectra of the sample, along with the long-wavelength band of porous silicon with a maximum in the range 627–667 nm, exhibit a short-wavelength band of 5CB with a maximum in the range 385–410 nm. The radiative relaxation times of porous silicon and 5CB lie in the micro- and nanosecond ranges, respectively. It is found that the filling of pores with 5CB enhances the fluorescence of porous silicon by two to three times. This enhancement is caused by non-radiative energy transfer from 5CB to the porous matrix as a result of efficient interactions between LC molecules and pore walls. Using IR spectroscopy, it is shown that the formation of hydrogen bonds between cyano groups of 5CB molecules and silanol groups of pore surface is the predominant type of these interactions. A transfer mechanism is suggested according to which excited associates of 5CB molecules transfer their energy via surface channels to excitons of porous silicon, enhancing its fluorescence.     

Electronic Excitation Energy Transfer between Different Types of Dye Molecules in a Porous Glass Matrix

The processes of electronic excitation energy transfer (EEET) between different types of dye molecules inserted into the matrix of a porous glass have been investigated. An extreme character of the dependence of the EEET efficiency on the size of pores has been revealed. The dependence of the fractal dimensionality of the distribution of dye molecules on the sizes of the pores has been determined. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 72, No. 4, pp. 446–449, July–August, 2005.     

Triplet-triplet transfer of electronic energy upon nonequilibrium vibrational excitation of triplet molecules

The specific features of the triplet-triplet (T-T) transfer of electronic excitation energy in a gas phase upon nonequilibrium vibrational excitation of the triplet molecules of a donor were studied for an anthraquinone-diacetyl donor-acceptor pair using the time-resolved slow fluoresence of anthraquinone and sensitized phosphorescence of diacetyl. It is shown that in the gas phase, which allows regular control of the number of collisions, competition between the processes of T-T transfer and intermolecular vibrational relaxation is observed for nanosecond time resolution. The T-T transfer rate for the molecular system investigated exceeded the rate of intermolecular vibrational relaxation k_V in the triplet state T₁ of the donor. The effectiveness of the T-T transfer of energy by vibrationally excited molecules turned out to be higher than the effectiveness of transfer by thermalized ones, but even the highest of them was much less than unity. An increase in the equilibrium temperature of vapors led to a decrease in the effectiveness of transfer for both vibrationally excited and thermalized triplet molecules, thus indicating the importance of the collisional complex in the intermolecular process studied. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 67, No. 4, pp. 474–479, July–August, 2000.     

Quenching of fluorescence of conjugated poly(p-phenylene) polymers by benzil and dimethylaminobenzil molecules

We have studied the mechanisms for quenching of the fluorescence of conjugated poly(p-phenylene) polymers by benzil and dimethylaminobenzil molecules. We have shown that molecules in the diketone series are quenching agents for the fluorescence of the indicated polymers, and can serve as singlet-triplet converters capable of populating the triplet state of the polymer. We have observed that the efficiency of quenching of the fluorescence of the studied polymers depends considerably on the presence of bulky side groups in the polymer or in the activator molecules. Based on analysis of the data obtained, we conclude that in the case of a rigid planar structure for the polymer, a significant contribution to quenching of its fluorescence comes from not only singlet-singlet energy transfer but also charge transfer, leading to formation of intermolecular complexes (exciplexes). __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 6, pp. 756–762, November–December, 2006.     

Vibrational excitation of acetylene by positron impact

Vibrationally inelastic quantum calculations are carried out at low collision energies for the scattering of a beam of positrons off acetylene gaseous molecules. The normal mode analysis is assumed to be valid and the relative fluxes into the C–C and C–H symmetric vibrational modes are computed within a Body-Fixed (BF) formulation of the dynamics by solving the relevant vibrational Coupled Channels (VCC) equations. The clear dominance of the C–C mode is observed near threshold and the implications of this finding are briefly considered in relation to more global indicators like the average vibrational energy transfer indices as obtained in the present work.     

Fluorescence of free complex molecules

A number of phenomena that determine the nature of the fluorescence of free complex molecules and the possibility of its analytical application are considered. Attention is specially paid to the specific features of the energetics of radiationless transitions, the role of statistical factors in the formation of spectral properties and the interrelationship among the luminescence-spectrum characteristics of rarefied vapors of complicated molecules, and the processes of energy transfer in collisions. The properties of polarized fluorescence of hot and jet-cooled vapors, the processes of relaxation of anisotropy in time and during collision reorientation, and transfer of anisotropy in photodisintegration are analyzed. Institute of Molecular and Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 70, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 5, pp. 620–634, September–October, 1998.     

Characteristic features of carbazole phosphorescence quenching by benzophenone molecules in toluene at 77 K

We have studied the characteristic features of carbazole phosphorescence quenching by benzophenone in toluene at 77 K. We have shown that the decrease in the relative phosphorescence intensity for carbazole (energy donor) by a greater factor than we see for the relative change in its decay time is due to the fact that a change in the phosphorescence decay time occurs only for carbazole molecules participating in triplet-triplet energy transfer, while the substantial decrease in the phosphorescence intensity for carbazole with no change in the phosphorescence decay time is connected with quenching of its singlet states. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 554–556, July–August, 2006.     

Luminescence and thermally stimulated recombination processes in Li<Subscript>6</Subscript>Gd(BO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>3</Subscript>:Ce<Superscript>3+</Superscript> crystals

The luminescence and thermally stimulated recombination processes in lithium borate crystals Li₆Gd(BO₃)₃ and Li₆Gd(BO₃)₃:Ce have been studied. The steady-state luminescence spectra under X-ray excitation (X-ray luminescence), temperature dependences of the intensity of steady-state X-ray luminescence (XL), and thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) spectra of these compounds have been investigated in the temperature range of 90–500 K. The intrinsic-luminescence 312-nm band, which is due to the ⁶ P _J → ⁸ S _7/2 transitions in Gd³⁺ matrix ions, dominates in the X-ray luminescence spectra of these crystals; in addition, there is a wide complex band at 400–420 nm, which is due to the d → f transitions in Ce³⁺ impurity ions. It is found that the steady-state XL intensity in these bands increases several times upon heating from 100 to 400 K. The possible mechanisms of the observed temperature dependence of the steady-state XL intensity and their correlation with the features of electronic-excitation energy transfer in these crystals are discussed. The main complex TSL peak at 110–160 K and a number of minor peaks, whose composition and structure depend on the crystal type, have been found in all crystals studied. The nature of the shallow traps that are responsible for TSL at temperatures below room temperature and their relation with defects in the lithium cation sublattice are discussed.     

Concentration self-quenching in solid solutions of complex organic molecules under intense excitation

A theoretical study was carried out to investigate concentration self-quenching which is nonlinear in intensity in a molecular system caused by nonradiative electronic excitation energy transfer to relatively long-lived acceptors that are formed in a solution and whose function is performed by molecules that have acquired the triplet state. It is shown that at ratios of constants of radiative and nonradiative transitions typical of complex molecules at concentrations of ∼10⁻³–10⁻² mole/liter substantial (2- to 10-fold) fluorescence takes place at intensities of excitation of ∼10⁴–10³ of the intensity of saturation for a singlet subsystem. Polarization characteristics of the system are analyzed. Belarusian State University, 4, F. Skorina Ave., 220050, Minsk, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 64, No. 6, pp. 729–733, November–December, 1997.     

Anti-stokes luminescence of Zn<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>Cd<Subscript>0.4</Subscript>S solid solutions with adsorbed organic dye molecules and few-atom silver clusters

For microcrystals of Zn_0.6Cd_0.4S with adsorbed molecules of a number of organic dyes, we have observed sensitized anti-Stokes luminescence excited by radiation with wavelengths in the range 610–750 nm and flux density 10¹⁴–10¹⁵ photons/cm²·sec. The positions of the bands in the excitation spectra for such luminescence match those of the absorption spectra for the adsorbed dye molecules, which is evidence in favor of a cooperative mechanism for its appearance. We have shown that enhancement of the anti-Stokes luminescence is possible when silver atoms and few-atom clusters appear on the Zn_0.6Cd_0.4S surface in addition to the dye molecules. We hypothesize that its excitation in the latter case occurs as a result of two-photon optical transitions. These transitions occur sequentially, with transfer of an electron or the electronic excitation energy from the dye molecules to silver atoms and few-atom clusters adsorbed on the surface of Zn_0.6Cd_0.4S, creating deep localized states in the bandgap with photoionization energies 1.80–2.00 eV. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 74, No. 5, pp. 617–621, September–October, 2007.     

Microwave excited CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser with multiple units using orthogonal electric fields

The third order nonlinear optical properties of 4^′-methoxy chalcone and its derivatives have been investigated using a single-beam Z-scan technique with nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. The 4^′-methoxy chalcone and its derivatives are donor–acceptor–acceptor (D–A–A) and donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) type intramolecular charge transfer molecules. The nonlinear response in these molecules was found to increase with increase in (a) the electron acceptor strength in D–A–A type and (b) the donor strength of the substituted group in D–A–D type molecules. The χ⁽³⁾ value in these molecules is found to be of the order of 10^-13 esu. The observed increase in the third order nonlinearity in these molecules clearly indicates the electronic origin. The compounds exhibit good optical limiting at 532 nm. The best optical limiting behavior was observed with the molecule substituted by a strong electron donor. PACS 42.65.An; 42.70.Nq     

Time Resolved Fluorescence and Energy Transfer Analysis of Nd<Superscript>3+</Superscript>–Yb<Superscript>3+</Superscript>–Er<Superscript>3+</Superscript> Triply-Doped Ba–Al-Metaphosphate Glasses for an Eye Safe Emission (1.54 μm)

This paper reports on the preparation and systematic analysis of energy transfer mechanisms in Nd³⁺–Yb³⁺–Er³⁺ co-doped new series of barium-alumino-metaphosphate glasses. The time resolved fluorescence of Nd³⁺ in triply doped Ba–Al-metaphosphate glasses have revealed that, Yb³⁺ ions could function as quite efficient bridge for an energy transfer between Nd³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions. As a result, a fourfold emission enhancement at 1.54 μm of Er³⁺ ions has been achieved through an excitation of ⁴F_5/2 level of Nd³⁺ at 806 nm for the glass having 3 mol% Yb³⁺ with an energy transfer efficiency reaching up to 94%. Decay of donor (Nd³⁺) ion fluorescence has been analyzed based on theoretical models such as direct energy transfer model (Inokuti–Hirayama) and migration assisted energy transfer models (Burshtein’s hopping and Yokota–Tanimoto’s diffusion). The corresponding energy transfer parameters have been evaluated and discussed. Primarily, electrostatic dipole–dipole (s ~ 6) interactions are found to be responsible for the occurrence of energy transfer process in theses glasses.     

Dynamic and stationary characteristics of nonlinear luminescence in molecular layers with electronic-excitation energy transfer

We carry out an analysis of the characteristics of nonlinear luminescence of a multicomponent layer system consisting of layers of molecules of a sensitizer, donor, and acceptor with inductive-resonance transfer of energy between the components of the molecular ensemble. We show that in a stationary regime bistable dependences of the populations of excited states of molecules on excitation intensity are realized without external feedback. For pulse pumping, we show the possibility for forming response-luminescence pulses with widely variable characteristics: shape, duration, intensity, and delay. Belorussian State University, 4, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220050, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 66, No. 2, pp. 190–196, March–April, 1999.     

Kinetics of fluorescence polarization for solid bichromophore solutions in intense pulse excitation

The kinetics of fluorescence polarization in intense pulse excitation of solid disordered solutions of bichromophores that consist of complex molecules of two types between which there can be inductiveresonance transfer of electron-excitation energy is theoretically investigated. Variants of fluorescence excitation by single pulses and pulse trains are considered. The lifetime of the fluorescence of a given solution increases with the intensity of the exciting pulses. The possibility of controlling the duration of fluorescence attenuation for donor molecules incorporated into the bichromophores by the action of luminescence radiation at the frequency of acceptor-molecule absorption on the solution is demonstrated. Belarusian State University, 4, F. Skorina Ave., Minsk, 220050, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii Vol. 65, No. 4, pp. 546–550, July–August, 1998.     

Schemes for excitation of rare earth monoxides in flame laser-induced molecular ionization spectrometry

Laser-induced ionization spectra of PrO, TbO, and CeO molecules in a flame were recorded in the wavelength ranges 440–480 nm and 535–575 nm. Based on study of the spectra, we propose a two-step scheme for excitation of PrO and CeO molecules in which in the first step, the molecule goes to the excited electronic state, while the excitation energy in the second step is selected so that the total energy imparted to the molecule corresponds to its ionization potential. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 544–546, July–August, 2006.     

Impact of humidity on quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy based detection of HCN

The architecture and operation of a trace hydrogen cyanide (HCN) gas sensor based on quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy and using a λ=1.53 μm telecommunication diode laser are described. The influence of humidity content in the analyzed gas on the sensor performance is investigated. A kinetic model describing the vibrational to translational (V–T) energy transfer following the laser excitation of a HCN molecule is developed. Based on this model and the experimental data, the V–T relaxation time of HCN was found to be (1.91±0.07)10^-3 s Torr in collisions with N₂ molecules and (2.1±0.2)10^-6 s Torr in collisions with H₂O molecules. The noise-equivalent concentration of HCN in air at normal indoor conditions was determined to be at the 155-ppbv level with a 1-s sensor time constant. PACS 82.80.Kq; 42.62.Fi