Transient spectra, kinetics and mechanism of Rhodamine 700 dye precursor photoreaction

A new dye precursor (DP) molecule was synthesized and its photochromic, spectroscopic and kinetic properties were determined. This dye precursor yields the strongly fluorescent Rhodamine 700 dye when it is exposed to UV light. The ability to form a highly fluorescent dye was utilized in the fabrication of two-photon volumetric optical memory materials. The spectral characteristics, kinetics and photochemistry were measured and the photoreactions mechanism is proposed.