Low-Threshold Wavelength-Switchable Organic Nanowire Lasers Based on Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 54; no. 24; pp. 7125 - 7129
• Main Authors: Zhang, Wei, Yan, Yongli, Gu, Jianmin, Yao, Jiannian, Zhao, Yong Sheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 08.06.2015; WILEY‐VCH Verlag; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Benzothiazoles - chemistry; Construction; Conversion; Excitation; excited-state intramolecular proton transfer; laser switch; Lasers; Lasing; nanophotonics; nanowire laser; Nanowires; Nanowires - chemistry; organic nanowire; Population inversion; Protons; Quantum Theory; Self assembly; Thermodynamics; Wavelengths; nanophotonics; laser switch; excited-state intramolecular proton transfer; organic nanowire; nanowire laser
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201502684

Coherent light signals generated at the nanoscale are crucial to the realization of photonic integrated circuits. Self‐assembled nanowires from organic dyes can provide both a gain medium and an effective resonant cavity, which have been utilized for fulfilling miniaturized lasers. Excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT), a classical molecular photoisomerization process, can be used to build a typical four‐level system, which is more favorable for population inversion. Low‐power driven lasing in proton‐transfer molecular nanowires with an optimized ESIPT energy‐level process has been achieved. With high gain and low loss from the ESIPT, the wires can be applied as effective FP‐type resonators, which generated single‐mode lasing with a very low threshold. The lasing wavelength can be reversibly switched based on a conformation conversion of the excited keto form in the ESIPT process. Low‐threshold single‐mode lasing was achieved via excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT)‐assisted population inversion in crystal organic nanowires fabricated by the self‐assembly of proton‐transfer dye molecules. The lasing wavelength can be reversibly switched based on the photoinduced conformation conversion of the excited keto form in the ESIPT process.