Persistent Spectral Hole Burning in Substituted Tetraazabacteriochlorin in Organic Polymer and Inorganic Silicate Xerogel

Abstract

The ability to exhibit persistent spectral hole burning has been established for the stereoisomers of dibenzobarrelene-substituted tetraazabacteriochlorin (cis-TABC and trans-TABC) incorporated in inorganic silicate xerogel and organic polymer (polyvinylbutyral) matrices. Hole burning properties of these molecules absorbing light at ∼790 nm have been studied. For the inorganic matrix, the efficiency of hole burning is higher and the relative depth of the hole and its width are larger than for the organic matrix polymer. These facts are explained by the formation of labile intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the surface hydroxyl groups of the matrix pores and the nitrogen atoms of the embedded molecules in the TABC−xerogel system.