Abstract: Ternary excitation energy transfer from biphenyl donor embeded in the interior of bilayer membranes cascading through membrane bound titan yellow to membrane bound rhodamine B was investigated in the mixture system of DBBTAB(4-(4'-decyloxybiphenyl-4-oxytrimethyl)ammonium bromide)vesicles. The energy transfer efficiency of the ternary system was good. The specific function of the DBBTAB vesicles in energy transfer was explored and the mechanism of energy transfer was discussed. Furthermore, the cascading energy transfer among biphenyl, titan yellow, fluorescein, rhodamine B and tetraphenyl porphin, which anchored on the surface of the DBBTAB membrane except biphenyl, was also observed in the same mixture system. It improved the light efficiency and extended the spectral region. The experiment results imply that DBBTAB vesicle is a promising efficient medium for energy transfer in dye lasers and a better membrane mimetic agent.

Key words: bilayer membrane, vesicle, fluorescence, energy transfer