The photochromic effect in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) fibre doped by 1,4-bis(2-methylstyryl)benzene is presented. The reversible photochromic effect of PMMA specimen and fibre has been checked using Nd-YAG (355 nm) laser. Under the UV, the photodimerisation process leads to switching into the coloured form and wide absorption band below 670 nm was observed. The kinetic of photoswitching process is also presented. Moreover, the high transparency observed in visible (VIS) spectrum range, small dimensions, and high flexibility of presented functional polymeric fibre can be applied for numerous applications in optoelectronics devices.

References

1. 1)
  - 1. Zubia, J.: ‘Plastic optical fibers: an introduction to their technological processes and applications’, Opt. Fib. Technol., 2001, 7, pp. 101–114, (doi: 10.1006/ofte.2000.0355).
2. 2)
  - 6. Miluski, P., Kochanowicz, M., Zmojda, J., et al: ‘Luminescent properties of Tb3+-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) fiber’, Chin. Opt. Lett., 2017, 15, (7), p. 070602 (doi: 10.3788/COL201715.070602).
3. 3)
  - 8. Miluski, P., Kochanowicz, M., Żmojda, J., et al: ‘The properties of Eu3+ doped poly(methyl methacrylate) optical fibre’, Opt. Eng., 2017, 56, (2), p. 027106 (doi: 10.1117/1.OE.56.2.027106).
4. 4)
  - 9. Fu, S., Liu, Y., Lu, Z., et al: ‘Real-time holographic gratings recorded by He-Ne laser in polymer films containing spirooxazine compounds pre-irradiated by UV light’, Opt. Mater., 2005, 27, (10), pp. 1567–1570 (doi: 10.1016/j.optmat.2004.10.012).
5. 5)
  - 14. Schwoerer, M., Wolf, H. C.: ‘Organic molecular solids’ (John Wiley & Sons, 2008), ISBN 352761866X, 9783527618668.
6. 6)
  - 12. Fang, H.-H, Yang, J., Feng, J., et al: ‘Functional organic single crystals for solid-state laser applications’, Laser Photonics Rev., 2014, 8, (5), pp. 687–715 (doi: 10.1002/lpor.201300222).
7. 7)
  - 10. Zmija, J., Malachowski, M.J.: ‘New organic photochromic materials and selected applications’, J. Achievements Mater. Manuf. Eng., 2010, 41, (1), pp. 48–56.
8. 8)
  - 11. Miluski, P., Kochanowicz, M., Żmojda, J., et al: ‘Optical properties of spirooxazine-doped PMMA fiber for new functional applications’, Opt. Eng., 2017, 56, (4), p. 047105 (doi: 10.1117/1.OE.56.4.047105).
9. 9)
  - 3. Lacraz, A., Theodosiou, A., Kalli, K.: ‘Femtosecond laser inscribed Bragg grating arrays in long lengths of polymer optical fibres; a route to practical sensing with POF’, Electron. Lett., 2016, 52, (19), pp. 1626–1627 (doi: 10.1049/el.2016.2238).
10. 10)
  - 5. Mirtaheri, P.: ‘Fibre optical technology for monitoring and diagnostic applications’, in Chandra, P. (Ed.): ‘Nanobiosensors for personalized and onsite biomedical diagnosis’ (IET, Stevenage, UK, 2016), doi: 10.1049/PBHE001E.
11. 11)
  - 7. Stouwdam, J.W.: ‘Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles as the active optical medium in polymer-based devices’. PhD thesis, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, 2004, ISBN 90-365-2011-8.
12. 12)
  - 2. Bilro, L., Alberto, N., Pinto, J.L., et al: ‘Optical sensors based on plastic fibers’, Sensors, 2012, 12, pp. 12184–12207, (doi: 10.3390/s120912184).
13. 13)
  - 13. Karimi-Alavijeh, H., Panahi, F., Gharavi, A.: ‘Photo-switching effect in stilbene organic field effect transistors’, J. Appl. Phys., 2014, 115, p. 093706 (doi: 10.1063/1.4864019).
14. 14)
  - 4. Miluski, P., Dorosz, D., Kochanowicz, M., et al: ‘Fluorescent polymeric optical fibre illuminator’, Electron. Lett., 2016, 52, (18), pp. 1550–1552 (doi: 10.1049/el.2016.1491).

Correspondence

This article has following corresponding article(s):

functional doping of acrylic PMMA with photochromic dyes

Photochromic optical fibre for VIS spectrum range applications

References

Related content