Steady-State and Time-Resolved Spectroscopy of a Self-Assembled Cyanine Dye Multilayer†

Ultrathin organic multilayers, consisting of polyelectrolytes and J-aggregates of a cyanine dye, were obtained using the layer by layer alternate adsorption technique. Buildup of the multilayer is followed by UV−vis absorption spectroscopy. The fluorescence properties of the J-aggregates are studied by steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy and picosecond fluorescence decay measurements. Fluorescence of the cyanine dye, when adsorbed on the substrate, results in a narrow emission band with a small Stokes shift which is characteristic for J-aggregate emission. Time-resolved fluorescence measurements yield a very short average decay time, which can be attributed to the J-aggregates. These results describing the fluorescence properties of multilayer assemblies containing J-aggregates allow one to compare them to those of J-aggregates of the cyanine dye in solution.