Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.107, No.16, 2800-2807, 2003
Optical rotatory and circular dichroic scattering
Optical effects are observed in regularly dyed crystals that serve to mimic optical rotation and circular dichroism by rotating the azimuth and increasing the ellipticity of linearly polarized light traversing the samples. However, these effects to which we give the names optical rotatory scattering and circular dichroic scattering do not transform upon rotation of the sample like intrinsic optical rotation and intrinsic circular dichroism. We ascribe this behavior to new scattering consequences that arise here in crystals of K2SO4 containing oriented azo dyes that have been arranged and overgrown in particular growth sectors. Requisite for the apparent optical rotation and circular dichroism is a bias in the inclination of the induced dipoles with respect to the principal light propagation modes of the medium. This unique situation is a consequence of the anisotropy of growth that is unlikely to occur in other dye-doped systems such as polymers or liquid crystals.