Influence of solvent on the physical and lasing properties of dye-doped sol–gel host

Pyrromethene 597 dye is synthesised in two routes by sol–gel process and ethanol and tetrahydrofuran are used as solvents for hydrolysis. To understand the role and the influence of solvent in sol–gel host, absorption and emission spectra of the dye diluted in ethanol and tetrahydrofuran are recorded. Similarly, the absorption, emission spectra and their lasing performance of the molecule obtained by both sol–gel host matrices are also measured and compared. It is shown that the gelation of sol–gel with tetrahydrofuran is faster than that with ethanol. Effect on absorption and emission spectra due to influence of solvent are observed. The lasing performance of pyrromethene 597 dye doped in sol–gel was measured and the output properties are shown and found to be different.