Abstract
This paper shows the potential applications of new photoactive materials based on the intercalation of fluorescent dyes into ordered clay films. The intercalation of rhodamine 6G (R6G) into laponite (Lap) films improves the thermostability and the fluorescent efficiency of the dye, although the emission ability decreases by increasing the dye loading due to the dye aggregation. The dye aggregation induces new absorption and fluorescence bands, rising the spectral region in which these materials are photoactives. These materials show an anisotropic behaviour with respect to the plane of the linearly polarized light, improving the applicability of these films in non-linear optics.