Optical microscopy study of zeolite-dye composite materials

We applied confocal fluorescence microscopy to investigate the spatial distribution and chemical reactions of fluorescent dyes incorporated in micrometer-sized zeolite crystals. The penetration of dyes into the pores of rod-like zeolite L crystals and of octahedron-shaped zeolite X crystals was visualized directly. A few remarkable properties of dyes in the zeolite hosts, only observable by the application of the microscopy method, are demonstrated. Furthermore, a space-resolved image is given for the luminescence quenching reaction of ruthenium trisbipyridine complex, Ru(bpy)32+, incorporated into zeolites X and Y by methyl viologen, MV2+.