Class of Photostable, Highly Efficient UV Dyes: 2-Phenylbenzoxazoles

Abstract

The photophysics and lasing properties of 2-phenylbenzoxazole,2-(4'-methoxyphenyl)benzoxazole and 2-(4'-diethylaminophenyl)-benzoxazole in nonpolar solvents are reported. This class of 2-phenylbenzoxazoles provides near-UV laser generation with a wide range of tunability (330–380 nm). The efficient laser output and extreme photostability of this class of dyes make their practical application feasible when pumped by a nitrogen laser (337 nm), XeCl excimer laser (308 nm), or Nd:YAG laser (fourth harmonic, 266 nm).