Photostability of laser dyes incorporated in formamide SiO₂ ORMOSILs

The sol-gel process provides a low temperature chemical route for the preparation of rigid transparent matrix materials. Under this process, luminescent organic dye molecules were incorporated into organically modified silicate (ORMOSIL) host matrices. The photostability of these laser dyes encapsulated in a solid matrix was studied using optical absorption and luminescence. The photochemical mechanisms of the dye response under N₂ laser irradiation were studied using UV and fluorescence spectra measurement. The evolution of the maximum of the emission and excitation curves as function of accumulated irradiated energy was fitted by exponential equations. The matrix protects the dye from the oxidation and dimerization reactions. The dye molecules exhibited photobleaching due to their photodegradation. The ORMOSIL doped with Nile blue exhibits good photostability after 6 h of irradiation.