Inclusion Complexes of Photosensitizers with Cyclodextrins for Enhancing the Fabrication of Volume Grating
Zhiwei Shi, Weiping Li, Azhu Wang, Yuzhe Wang, Huishi Pi, Huicong Liu, Haining Chen, Pei Li, Xiaoyu Jiang
Abstract
A supramolecule photosensitizer (supra-photosensitizer) based on the host–guest complexation of cyclodextrins and a bis-chalcone dye (BDEA) was prepared. Methyl-β-cyclodextrin (Me-β-CD), with the highest inclusion rate, was confirmed as the best host among the four cyclodextrins. The host–guest properties of Me-β-CD and BDEA were characterized by FTIR, XRD, 1 H NMR, PLQY, SEM, Job’s plot, Benesi–Hildebrand plot, and others. Compared to the conventional photosensitizers, the supra-photosensitizers showed higher fluorescence emission and longer fluorescence lifetime whether as a powder or distributed in a film. The improvement in fluorescence coincided with improvement in photoinitiation efficiency and was proven to enhance the generation of volume grating. It is expected that the supra-photosensitizer may open a new avenue for the design of high-performance photoinitiation systems.