Unexpected photoluminescence properties from one-dimensional molecular chains

Abstract

Unlike bulk iodine, iodine molecular chains formed inside one dimensional (1D) nanochannels of AlPO₄-5 (AFI) single crystals show unexpected PL behavior. Thanks to its unique 1D structure, the PL exhibits obvious polarization both in excitation and emission, by changing the angle between the c-axis of the channels and the polarization direction of the incident laser. As pressure increases, the PL intensity increases obviously due to the population increase of (I₂)_n chains upon compression. In contrast, the breaking of the (I₂)_n chain at high temperature leads to the decrease of PL intensity. Our theoretical calculation further points out that the PL may arise from the intrinsic band structure of (I₂)_n chains.