Photophysical Investigation of Dyes and Dye-PMMA Systems: Insights into Absorption, Emission, and Charge Transfer Mechanisms.

The photophysical properties of five dyes, i.e., perylene, anthracene, aminoanthracene, 1,6-diphenylhexatriene, and 7-diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin, in solvent and attached to the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer, were studied via DFT and TD-DFT calculations. Their absorption and emission spectra were calculated, while for the PMMA-dye systems, their absorption spectra were measured experimentally, in good agreement with the calculated ones. In the PMMA-dye systems, charge transfer from the dye to PMMA was observed, and in the case of perylene, electron transfer from its ground state was also observed. It was found that the PMMA-dye systems can interact photochemically via laser illumination, and provided that the charge transfer will be enhanced by using the appropriate laser parameters, the systems may be candidates for the design of materials for specific nanopatterning needs.