Study of internal structure of meso-tetrakis (4-sulfonatophenyl) porphine J-aggregates in solution by fluorescence microscope imaging in a magnetic field

To determine the internal molecular arrangement of organic dye aggregates, a technique for observing the fluorescence microscope image of a solution consisting of dye aggregates in a magnetic field was developed. Using this technique, the fluorescence image of meso-tetrakis (4-sulfonatophenyl) porphine (TPPS) J-aggregates in a solution in a magnetic field of 10 T was observed. It was observed that individual rod-shaped TPPS aggregates (4-20 mu m in length) were aligned parallel to the applied field. The polarized absorption spectra of the sample solution were also measured in the fields of up to 10 T. The spectra show the magnetic field dependence of the J-band intensity, reflecting the magnetic alignment of the aggregates. On the basis of the magnetic and optical properties obtained by the experiments, it was proposed that TPPS J-aggregates have a tube-like structure and are constructed from one-dimensional molecular arrays that are stacked parallel to the long axis of the tube.