title: A borane laser.
abstract: Emission from electronically excited species forms the basis for an important class of light sources-lasers. So far, commercially available solution-processed blue-emitting laser materials are based on organic compounds or semiconductor nanocrystals that have significant limitations: either low solubility, low chemical- and/or photo-stability and/or uncompetitive prices. Here we report a novel and competitive alternative to these existing laser materials that is based on boron hydrides, inorganic cluster compounds with a rich and diverse chemistry. We demonstrate that solutions of the borane anti-B18H22 show, under pulsed excitation, blue laser emission at 406 nm with an efficiency (ratio of output/input energies) of 9.5%, and a photostability superior to many of the commercially available state-of-the-art blue laser dyes. This demonstration opens the doors for the development of a whole new class of laser materials based on a previously untapped resource for laser technology-the boranes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Low Dimensional Systems, Surfaces and Condensed Matter, Instituto de Química-Física 'Rocasolano', Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Serrano 119, ES-28006 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cerdán
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Syntheses, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the AS CR, v.v.i., 250 68 Husinec-Řež, Czech Republic [2] Faculty of Science, J. E. Purkinje University, Ceske Mladeze 8, 40096 Ústi nad Labem, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jakub
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Braborec
authors.affiliation: Department of Low Dimensional Systems, Surfaces and Condensed Matter, Instituto de Química-Física 'Rocasolano', Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Serrano 119, ES-28006 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Garcia-Moreno
authors.affiliation: Department of Low Dimensional Systems, Surfaces and Condensed Matter, Instituto de Química-Física 'Rocasolano', Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Serrano 119, ES-28006 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Costela
authors.affiliation: Department of Syntheses, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the AS CR, v.v.i., 250 68 Husinec-Řež, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Michael G S
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Londesborough