Unprecedented Fluorophore Photostability Enabled by Low‐Loss Organic Hyperbolic Materials. Issue 9 (27th January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Yeon Ui; Li, Shilong; Bopp, Steven Edward; Zhao, Junxiang; Nie, Zhaoyu; Posner, Clara; Yang, Sui; Zhang, Xiang; Zhang, Jin; Liu, Zhaowei
• Is Part Of: Advanced materials. Volume 33:Issue 9(2021)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2021-01-27
• Subjects: natural hyperbolic materials -- organic hyperbolic materials -- photostability -- poly(3‐hexylthiophenes) -- Purcell effect; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202006496
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0935-9648

Abstract

Abstract: The dynamics of photons in fluorescent molecules plays a key role in fluorescence imaging, optical sensing, organic photovoltaics, and displays. Photobleaching is an irreversible photodegradation process of fluorophores, representing a fundamental limitation in relevant optical applications. Chemical reagents are used to suppress the photobleaching rate but with exceptionally high specificity for each type of fluorophore. Here, using organic hyperbolic materials (OHMs), an optical platform to achieve unprecedented fluorophore photostability without any chemical specificity is demonstrated. A more than 500‐fold lengthening of the photobleaching lifetime and a 230‐fold increase in the total emitted photon counts are observed simultaneously. These exceptional improvements solely come from the low‐loss hyperbolic dispersion of OHM films and the large resultant Purcell effect in the visible spectral range. The demonstrated OHM platform may open up a new paradigm in nanophotonics and organic plasmonics for super‐resolution imaging and the engineering of light–matter interactions at the nanoscale. Abstract : Fluorophores are much more photostable on organic hyperbolic materials (OHMs) than on glass. On a glass substrate, fluorophores are photobleached almost immediately; highly photostable fluorophores, however, are observed on an OHM substrate. Fluorophore photobleaching lifetimes are lengthened up to four orders of magnitude with a 230‐fold increase in photon count.