Photophysical properties of coumarin derivatives incorporated in MCM-41

Highly ordered MCM-41 has been synthesized and four coumarin derivative dyes were incorporated into it by impregnation method. The absorption and emission spectra of four coumarin derivatives in both toluene and MCM-41 were examined to explore the structural and environmental effects on the optical properties of these dyes. The spectra results indicated that dye molecules existed in monomer form within MCM-41. The maxima of absorption and emissions shifted to red compared with those in toluene due to the strong host–guest interactions. The shifts of emission maxima increased with increasing the volume of the dyes.