Sol–gel prepared AlPO4 with incorporating Rhodamine 6G

Rhodamine 6G (RH6G) laser dye-doped AlPO4 xerogel and glass were prepared via a simple sol–gel route by one-step process and two-step process, respectively. The aggregating behavior of dyes in xerogel and glass was studied by excitation and emission spectra. The results indicated the dye aggregates become significantly weak in AlPO4 glass than in xerogel, which might be attributed to the enhanced interactions between dye and AlPO4 network as well as the nano-scale separation of dye by the mesoporous structure of AlPO4 glass. The 27Al MAS NMR of AlPO4 glass confirms the interaction of RH6G with AlPO4 glass network. Incorporation of RH6G into AlPO4 glass converts Al(4) to Al(6) units, resulting in the increase of Al(6) concentration with the doped RH6G concentration.