Light-induced redistribution of Si-MFI zeolite nanoparticles in acrylamide-based photopolymer holographic gratings

Results of studies of the redistribution of Si-MFI zeolite nanoparticles within a photopolymer layer during hologram recording are presented. Light-induced mass transfer studies provide valuable information leading to ways of controlling the spatial distribution of nanoparticles. Nanoparticle-doped photopolymers are very promising materials for development of new holographic-based sensing techniques and for holographic data storage applications. In our studies, diffraction gratings were recorded with a spatial frequency of 200 lines mm(-1) at different recording intensities in an acrylamide-based photopolymer system containing 4 wt.% MFI zeolite nanoparticles. Maps of Si-MFI nanoparticle concentration as a function of position in the samples after recording were prepared by Raman spectroscopy and AFM. It has been proven that mass transfer of MFI zeolite nanoparticles takes place during the recording of holographic gratings.