An organic dye with very large Stokes-shift and broad tunability of fluorescence: Potential two-photon probe for bioimaging and ultra-sensitive solid-state gas sensor

Journal Article · Mon Jan 04 04:00:00 EST 2016 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4939232· OSTI ID:22489235

He, Tingchao; Tian, Xiaoqing; Lin, Xiaodong ^[1]; Wang, Yue; Zhao, Xin; Sun, Handong ^[2]; Gao, Yang; Grimsdale, Andrew C. ^[3]

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1. College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 (China)
2. Division of Physics and Applied Physics, and Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies (CDPT), School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637371 (Singapore)
3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

Light-emitting nonlinear optical molecules, especially those with large Stokes shifts and broad tunability of their emission wavelength, have attracted considerable attention for various applications including biomedical imaging and fluorescent sensors. However, most fluorescent chromophores have only limited potential for such applications due to small Stokes shifts, narrow tunability of fluorescence emissions, and small optical nonlinearity in highly polar solvents. In this work, we demonstrate that a two-photon absorbing stilbene chromophore exhibits a large two-photon absorption action cross-section (ηδ = 320 GM) in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and shows broad fluorescence tunability (125 nm) by manipulating the polarity of the surrounding medium. Importantly, a very large Stokes shift of up to 227 nm is achieved in DMSO. Thanks to these features, this chromophore can be utilized as a two-photon probe for bioimaging applications and in an ultrasensitive solid-state gas detector.

• OSTI ID: 22489235
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 108; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ABSORPTION
CROSS SECTIONS
DMSO
DYES
FLUORESCENCE
MOLECULES
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PHOTONS
POTENTIALS
PROBES
SENSORS
STILBENE
VISIBLE RADIATION
WAVELENGTHS