Photoelectron spectroscopic investigation of perimidine derivatives

The Hel UPS spectra of acetamidine, perimidine, and four 2-substituted perimidine derivatives have been recorded and interpreted using ab initio and MNDO quantum-chemical calculations. A large interaction between the naphthalene and amidine fragment was concluded from the lowest ionization energy. The color-determining band of these compounds is strongly affected by the intramolecular charge-transfer transitions, which are of low energy because of the low ionization energy of the perimidine moiety.