Photoinduced formation of the laser dye coumarin 6 from its dihydro derivatives

The dihydro form of the laser dye Coumarin 6 and its acylated derivatives undergo photoinduced transformations with Coumarin 6 formation. The reactions go easily both in organic solvents and in polymer films with a high increase of fluorescence. Irreversibility of the reaction provides potential use of the new photosensitive media for optical information recording and sensing technologies.