Study of laser action of Coumarine-153 incorporated in sol–gel made silica/poly(propylene oxide) nanocomposite gels

Coumarin-153 (C-153) has been incorporated by the sol–gel method into transparent nanocomposite matrices made by using a precursor composed of a poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) chain covalently linked by urea bridges with two end triethoxysilane groups. The solid gels can be used without any further treatment as active components in a dye laser, providing a rather wide range of laser emission. This range is further widened by exploiting the solvatochromic effect of coumarin and the different polarity of the solubilization sites provided by nanocomposites of various PPO chain sizes.