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Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Photogeneration of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: Application in Photoinduced Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization
Published on: November 29, 2018
Reversibly Trapping Visible Laser Light through the Catalytic Photo-oxidation of I(-) by Ru(bpy)3(2+)
Derek R Morim1, Ignacio Vargas-Baca1, Kalaichelvi Saravanamuttu1
1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University , 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada.
Abstract:
A Gaussian, visible laser beam traveling in a hydrogel doped with NaI and Ru(bpy)3Cl2 spontaneously transforms into a localized, self-trapped beam, which propagates without diverging through the medium. The catalytic, laser-light-induced oxidation of I(-) by [Ru(bpy)3](2+) generates I3(-) species, which create a refractive index increase along the beam path. The result is a cylindrical waveguide, which traps the optical field as bound modes and suppresses natural diffraction. When the beam is switched off, diffusion of I3(-) erases the waveguide within minutes and the system reverts to its original composition, enabling regeneration of the self-trapped beam. Our findings demonstrate reversible self-trapping for the first time in a precisely controllable, molecular-level photoreaction and could open routes to circuitry-free photonics devices powered by the interactions of switchable self-trapped beams.
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