1H-Phenalen-1-one: Photophysical Properties and Singlet-Oxygen Production

The efficiency of aromatic ketones as singlet-oxygen (¹O₂(¹Δ_g)) sensitizers can vary considerably with the electronic configuration of their lowest triplet state and the solvent used. Near-infrared measurements of tie luminescence of singlet oxygen have shown that the quantum yield of singlet-oxygen production (Φ_Δ) by 1H-phenalen-1-one ( 1 ) is close to unity in both polar (Φ_Δ = 0.97±0.03 in methanol) and non-polar solvents (Φ_Δ = 0.93±0.04 in benzene). Analysis of the absorption spectra of the ground state and phosphorescence measurements show that the lowest singlet and triplet states have dominant π, π* electronic configurations. The quantum yield of intersystem crossing (Φ_ISC) of 1 , determined by laser flash photolysis (partial-saturation method), is equal to unity. In comparison with other aromatic ketones, these parameters are important for the discussion of the surprisingly high Φ_ISC of 1 and the efficient energy transfer from its triplet state to molecular oxygen. The 1H-phenalen-1-one ( 1 ), being one of the most efficient singlet-oxygen sensitizers in both polar and non-polar media, could be used as a reference sensitizer, in particular in the area of relatively high energies of excitation.