Dependence of the fluorescence of a composite photochromic molecule on structure and viscosity

Abstract

The spectroscopic properties, transient spectra and kinetics of a composite molecule are described. This molecule consists of a photochromic moiety chemically bonded to a strongly fluorescing dye. Experimental data presented here show that this composite molecule performs as an erasable, re-writable molecular optical storage medium with non-destructive read-out. The dependence of the fluorescence efficiency on the structure of the photochromic group and viscosity is discussed.