The photoinduced birefringence behaviors of host-guest systems based on heterocyclic thiazole-azo dyes with different substituents, dispersed into PMMA matrix, were investigated under three excitation wavelengths, i.e., 405 nm, 445 nm or 532 nm. The wavelengths fell on the blue side, near the maximum or on the red side of the absorption bands of trans-azo dyes, respectively. We found that photoinduced birefringence was generated at a similar extent in all studied systems, except the system containing a 2-methyl-5-benzothiazolyl as thiazole-azo dye substituent. For this material, the achieved birefringence value was the highest among the whole series, regardless of the excitation wavelength. Moreover, we identified the optimal irradiation wavelength for efficient birefringence generation and showed that large absorption of excitation light by trans isomer does not account for achieving a significant degree of molecular alignment. The obtained results indicate that thiazole-azo dye with a 2-methyl-5-benzothiazolyl substituent shows promising photoinduced birefringence, and can be considered a dye potentially suitable for optical applications.
Keywords: photoinduced birefringence; thiazole–azo dye; thin films.