Density Functional Theory Prediction of Laser Dyes-Cucurbit[7]uril Binding Affinities.

Among a variety of diverse host molecules distinguished by specific characteristics, the cucurbit[n]uril (CB) family stands out, being widely known for the attractive properties of its representatives along with their increasingly expanding area of applications. The presented herewith density functional theory (DFT)-based study is inspired by some recent studies exploring CBs as a key component in multifunctional hydrogels with applications in materials science, thus considering CB-assisted supramolecular polymeric hydrogels (CB-SPHs), a new class of 3D cross-linked polymer materials. The research systematically investigates the inclusion process between the most applied representative of the cavitand family CB[7] and a series of laser dye molecules as guests, as well as the possible encapsulation of a model side chain from the photoanisotropic polymer PAZO and its sodium-containing salt.

Nanocomposite Photoanisotropic Materials for Applications in Polarization Holography and Photonics.

Photoanisotropic materials, in particular azodyes and azopolymers, have attracted significant research interest in the last decades. This is due to their applications in polarization holography and 4G optics, enabling polarization-selective diffractive optical elements with unique properties, including circular polarization beam-splitters, polarization-selective bifocal lenses, and many others. Numerous methods have been applied to increase the photoinduced birefringence of these materials, and as a result, to obtain polarization holographic elements with a high diffraction efficiency.

Noise analysis in outdoor dynamic speckle measurement.

The dynamic speckle method (DSM) is an effective tool for the estimation of speed of processes. The speed distribution is encoded in a map built by statistical pointwise processing of time-correlated speckle patterns. For industrial inspection, the outdoor noisy measurement is required.

Hybrid Dispersion Model Characterization of PAZO Azopolymer Thin Films over the Entire Transmittance Spectrum Measured in the UV/VIS/NIR Spectral Region.

Notwithstanding the significant optical applicability of PAZO polymer films, there are no accurate data about their optical characteristics. To remedy this shortcoming, in this study three PAZO polymer thin films are characterized, with dissimilar thicknesses, on glass substrates using only one UV/VIS/NIR transmittance spectrum () per sample and an original hybrid dispersion model (HDM). HDM is based on the Tauc-Lorentz model, the new amorphous dispersion formula, the Tauc-Lorentz-Urbach model of Foldyna and the Tauc-Lorentz-Urbach model of Rodriguez.