The inner cavity of nanotubes attracted a lot of interest as template for the encapsulation of elongated dyes molecules, such as polythiophenes. Indeed, the 1D confinement drives the stacking of the molecules inside and enables original aggregation effects on their optical properties (1,2). When encapsulated inside carbon nanotube, the 6T exhibits for example a strong and specific Raman scattering but its luminescence is efficiently quenched by the nanotube (3). Here we show that the same dye, when encapsulated inside boron nitride (6T@BNNT) exhibits strong luminescence with signature of inter-molecules coupling (4). Photoluminescence imaging experiments on individualized 6T@BNNT deposited on substrate show that the encapsulation also prevents the bleaching of the molecules under strong photoexcitation, harsh oxidizing exposure and annealing in air up to 350°C.

(1) E. Gaufrès et al Nature Photon. (2014)

(2) S. Cambré et al Nature Nano. (2015)

(3) E. Gaufrès et al ACS Nano (2016)

(4) E. Gaufrès et al (submitted)