J-aggregates of pseudoisocyanine with long alkyl substituents in thin films: Synthesis, spectral properties, and thermal stability

The formation and properties of J-aggregates in thin solid films of pseudoisocyanines with long N-alkyl groups, obtained by centrifuging from solutions in organic solvents, were studied. It is shown for the first time that nonsymmetric cyanine dyes, containing a C2H5 group at one nitrogen atom and a C10H21, C15H31, or C18H37 group at another nitrogen atom, spontaneously form J-aggregates stable at room temperature and pressing a narrow absorption band with a half-width at half maximum of 200 cm−1. The thermal stability of J-aggregates in thin films of pseudoisocyanines with alkyl substituents decreases in the following order: C2H5-C2H5> C2H5-C6H13>C2H5-C18H37>C2H5-C10H21>C2H5-C15H31. By introducing 1-octadecyl-2-methylquinolinium iodide in the film, it was found that the J-aggregates studied consist of a small number (2–4) of dye molecules.