FLUORESCENCE ENERGY-TRANSFER BETWEEN COUMARIN LASER-DYES CO-BOUND TO POLY(METHACRYLIC ACID) IN WATER

Coumarin laser dyes have been shown to undergo efficient energy transfer when solubilized and co-bound to poly (methacrylic acid) (PMAA) in water at pH 3.0. Under these conditions dyes are bound in relative proximity (about 5.0 nm) within micro-domains of the polymer in its compact or hypercoloid form. Energy transfer efficiencies as high as 78% (assumed Forster dipole mechanism) have been measured from the fluorescence data for coumarin pairs displaying a good overlap of absorption and emission spectra.