Lasing of Coumarin-153 incorporated in sol-gel nanocomposite organic/inorganic matrices

The laser dye coumarin-153 has been incorporated in nanocomposite organic/inorganic matrices composed of surfactant/silica or poly(propyleneoxide)/silica. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide or Triton X-100 are used as surfactant, while polyethers of different chain lengths have been employed. The polyether is covalently bound to silica through urea bridges (Ureasil). The position of the fluorescence emission band and the resulting laser lines depend on the polarity of the nanoscale environment due to solvatochromic effects. Polarity is related with material composition so that the nature of the matrix affects the lasing behavior of the incorporated dye.