Rhodamine B absorbed by anodic porous alumina: Stokes and anti-Stokes luminescence study

An organic dye, rhodamine B (RhB) solution, has been used to impregnate anodic porous alumina (PA) in order to form RhB/PA nanocomposites. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of PA films impregnated with RhB are investigated and compared with those in liquid solution. The PL mechanism of RhB/PA nanocomposites has been investigated through the effect of energy excitation. We show the possibility of energy transfer from alumina nanocrystallites to RhB molecules. The interactions between chemical species in the internal surface of PA and the RhB molecules can play a key role in PL emission, which has been proved by the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements. Moreover, it is also found that the PL intensity of the nanocomposite increases with the PL of the PA layer. The effective cross section of RhB in PA has been estimated to be in the order of 8.4×10-17cm2. An anti-Stokes PL (APL) has been observed from RhB/PA. The linear variation of the APL intensity with the laser power (IAPLαP0.97) indicates that one photon is involved in emission process.