Spectral and Photophysical Properties of α-carboline (1-Azacarbazole) in Aqueous Solutions

The absorption and fluorescence spectra of α-carboline, 9H-pyrido[2,3-b]indole, AC, in organic aprotic solvents containing different water proportions and in acid/base aqueous solutions inside and outside the pH range have been examined. In the organic aprotic solvents, the addition of increasing concentrations of water sequentially quenches and shifts to the red the fluorescence spectra of AC. These spectral changes have been rationalized assuming the formation, at the lower water concentrations, of a discrete ground state non-cyclic weakly fluorescent AC hydrate emitting at 376 nm that, upon increasing the water concentrations, evolves to a higher order AC poly hydrate emitting at 397 nm. The changes of the AC absorption spectra in aqueous acid/basic solutions indicate the existence of three ground state prototropic species; the pyridinic protonated cation, C (pK_a?=?4.10?±?0.05), the neutral, N (pK_a?=?14.5?±?0.2), and the pyrrolic deprotonated anion, A. Conversely, the changes of the AC fluorescence spectra in these media indicate the existence of four excited state species emitting at 376 nm, 397 nm, 460 nm and 465 nm. Since the emissions at 376 nm and 397 nm satisfactorily match those of the hydrates observed in the organic-water mixtures, they were consistently assigned to two differently hydrated ground state N species. The remaining emissions at 460 nm and 465 nm have been assigned without ambiguity, on the basis of their excitation spectra, to the C and A species, respectively. The excited-state pK_as of the prototropic species of AC have been estimated by using the Förster-Weller cycle.     

Excited-state hydrogen bonding effect on dynamic fluorescence of coumarin 102 chromophore in solution: A time-resolved fluorescence and theoretical study

The steady-state absorption and emission as well as the time-resolved fluorescence spectra of coumarin 102 (C102) in both aprotic and alcoholic solvents have been used to study the effect of excited-state hydrogen bond on the dynamic fluorescence of C102 chromophore in various solutions. The dual fluorescence of C102 in alcohols, which is dependent on the hydrogen-bonded donation ability of the solvent, has been assigned to the distribution of free C102 and a hydrogen-bonded complex. Furthermore, a shift of the fluorescence spectra induced by excited-state hydrogen bond has been demonstrated to take place within hundreds of picoseconds by the performance of the time-resolved fluorescence spectra with the time-correlated single-photon-counting (TCSPC) technique. Moreover, the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) has been used to calculate the hydrogen-bonded equilibrium constant pK_HB in different electronic states. It has been demonstrated for the first time that the hydrogen bond strengthening in electronic excited states could decrease the free energy of the hydrogen-bonded complex due to its stronger binding energy. Therefore, the hydrogen-bonded equilibrium will become markedly in favor of the hydrogen-bonded forms in electronic excited states by comparison with the case in the ground state.     

Photophysical characterization of pyrazino[2,3-c]-1,2,6-thiadiazine 2,2-dioxides in DMSO and acetonitrile solutions

Photophysical characterization of some pyrazino[2,3-c][1,2,6]thiadiazine 2,2-dioxides derivatives in DMSO and acetonitrile has been carried out. Acid-base processes have been found to occur in the ground and excited states. In DMSO and acetonitrile equilibrium between the neutral and deprotonated molecules is established in the ground state. In acetonitrile, a second equilibrium between the neutral and protonated form is also present at a lower pH, and can be treated independently of the first one. Absorption, emission, and excitation spectra of the species involved have been measured; data analysis allows us to calculate pK _aand quantum efficiencies. The change of the decay lifetimes with pH, along with steady state fluorescence measurements show the existence of communication between the excited states and enable us to estimate the excited state kinetic rate constants.A discussion about their possible use as laser dyes based on the energy threshold condition is also given.     

Spectral characteristics of 2-(4′-amino-3-pyridyl)benzimidazole: Effects of solvent and acid or base concentration

Spectral characteristics of 2-(4′-amino-3-pyridyl)benzimidazole (4-A3PyBI) have been studied in different solvents, as well as at different acid or base concentrations using absorption, fluorescence excitation and fluorescence spectroscopy. Excited singlet state (S₁) lifetimes for each species were measured using nanosecond time-dependent spectrofluorimeter. AM1 semi-empirical and density functional theoretical (DFT) calculations were performed on each species for the spectral assignment. From the above results it is concluded that 4-A3PyBI exists only in the amine form. First protonation occurs at pyridineN- atom and second protonation at the benzimidazole (BI)N- atom. When dication (DC) species is excited, two emission bands are observed, having the same fluorescence excitation spectra, suggesting the same ground state (S₀) precursor. Short wavelength (SW) emission band is assigned to the π-π* transition and long wavelength (LW) emission to the charge transfer transition. First deprotonation in S₀ state occurs from >N-H moiety, whereas in S₁ state it is from -NH₂ group. Monoanion (MA) so formed in S₁ state is non-fluorescent. Dianion (DA) is formed by further deprotonating >N-H moiety in S₁ state and it is fluorescent. pK_a values were determined and discussed.     

Spectroscopic Studies of Fluorenone Derivatives

The absorption and steady-state fluorescence spectra of fluorenone, 1-hydroxyfluorenone, and 3-dimethylaminofluorenone have been obtained for various concentrations in a series of non-polar and polar solvents. The substituents (-OH and -N(CH₃)₂) as the electron-donating functional groups cause a large shift of the longwave absorption band and Stokes' shift of the monomer- and excimer-fluorescence bands in comparison with fluorenone. The total emission spectrum of 3-dimethylaminoflourenone in polar aprotic solvents exhibits a new band at 500 nm originating form the emission of the twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) isomer. The excited state dipole moments of the emiting species of the molecule studied are determined using the solvatation shift method and calculated values of the ground state dipole moments.     

Experimental Determination of Ground and Excited State Dipole Moments of N,N-Bis (2, 5-di-tert-butylphenyl)-3, 4:9, 10-perylenebis (dicarboximide) (DBPI) A Photostable Laser Dye

In the present work, the absorption, emission spectra and dipole moments(μ_g, μ_e) of N, N-bis (2, 5-di-tert-butylphenyl)-3, 4:9, 10- perylenebis (dicarboximide) (DBPI) have been studied in solvents of various polarities at room temperature. Using the methods of solvatochromism, the difference between the first excited singlet state (μ_e) and ground state (μ_g) dipole moments was estimated from Lippert – Mataga,, Bakhshiev, Kawski – Chamma – Viallet equations. The change in dipole moment (Δμ) was also calculated using the variation of the Stokes shift with microscopic solvent polarity parameter (E _T ^N ). It was observed that the value of excited singlet state dipole moment is higher (3.53 Debye) than the ground state one (1.92Debye), showing that the excited state of DBPI is more polar than the ground state.     

Spectral behavior study of 3-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-1-{6-[3-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-acryloyl]-pyridin-2-yl}-propanone

The photophysical properties such as singlet absorption, molar absorptivity, fluorescence spectra, fluorescence quantum yield (?_f) and transition dipole moment (μ₁₂) of 3-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-1-{6-[3-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-acryloyl]-pyridin-2-yl}-propanone (DMAPAPP) have been studied in different media. DMAPAPP exhibits a large red-shift in both absorption and emission spectra as the solvent polarity increases, indicating a large change in dipole moment of molecule upon excitation. The fluorescence quantum yield depends on the nature of the solvent. The absorption and emission spectra of DMAPAPP in dioxane–water mixture are also studied. The effect of different type of surfactants to determine their critical micellar concentration (CMC) and the microemulsion effect on the electronic absorption and emission spectra of DMAPAPP are recorded. The effect of acidity on the electronic absorption and emission spectra of DMAPAPP is studied to determine the pK_a and pK_a^? values.     

Preferential Solvation of 1,4-Dimethoxy-2,3-Dimethyl-9,10-Anthraquinone-A Spectrophotometric and Fluorometric Study

Electronic absorption and fluorescence emission spectra of DMDMAQ (1,4-dimethoxy-2,3-dimethyl-9,10-anthraquinone) have been studied as a function of solvent composition in some binary mixtures and in different neat solvents. The binary mixtures consist CCl₄ (Carbon tetrachloride)-DMSO (Dimethylsulfoxide), EtOH (Ethanol)-DMSO, and CCl₄-EtOH combination of single solvents. The wavelength maxima of the absorption band for DMDMAQ are quite solvent sensitive in aprotic solvents. But, in protic solvent, there is no marked shift in absorption and emission maximum which shows the absence of specific interaction. Excited state shows increasing shift with increasing solvent polarity compared to ground state. The ratio of dipole moment in the excited state to that in the ground state was calculated. Different criteria were considered to analyse preferential solvation characteristics in different binary mixtures, viz., local mole fraction (), solvation index (δ_S2) and exchange constant (K₁₂).     

Steady‐State and Time‐Resolved Emission Studies of 6‐Methoxy Quinoline

Abstract

Steady‐state absorption, fluorescence excitation, and emission spectra of 6‐methoxy quinoline (6‐MQ) were measured at room temperature in cyclohexane, dioxane, ethanol, acetonitrile, water, and water–dioxane solvents. Absorption spectra of cyclohexane, n‐hexane, and isopentane solutions show resolved vibronic structure at room temperature. However, the excitation spectrum of cyclohexane solution is structureless and is found to be emission wavelength dependent, indicating the formation of at least two distinct species in the ground state. Similar behavior was observed in dioxane and water–dioxane solutions. For all other solutions, the fluorescence excitation spectrum of 6‐MQ was found to be the same for different emissions. Emission of 6‐MQ in all solvents consisted of two bands with their maxima around 355 nm (I) and 430 nm (II), the actual positions and the relative intensities being dependent on the solvent used. The bands I and II were respectively attributed to normal and protonated/H‐bonded species of either ¹L_a or ¹L_b states or mixed (¹L_a/¹L_b) state of ππ* character. Fluorescence decay of this dye in all solvents monitored over each emission maximum showed biexponential behavior, and the analysis yielded two different lifetime components for each emission band. The short and long fluorescence decay components were respectively in the range of 0.30–3.00 ns and 18–20 ns. The observed emission characteristics coupled with the nature of the fluorescence polarization spectra and two different decay components for each emission suggest the existence of two different conformers having two different excited electronic states.     

Spectroscopic and theoretical evidence for the photoinduced twisted intramolecular charge transfer state formation in N,N-dimethylaminonaphthyl-(acrylo)-nitrile

The phenomenon of excited state twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) process in N,N-dimethylaminonaphthyl-(acrylo)-nitrile (DMANAN) has been reported on the basis of steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy in combination with quantum chemical calculations. The absorption and fluorescence characteristics of DMANAN in solvents of different polarity reveal the presence of a single species in the ground state which forms the intramolecular charge transfer state upon photoexcitation. The observed dual fluorescence is assigned to a high-energy emission from the locally excited or the Franck-Condon state and the red-shifted emission from the charge transfer (CT) state. In polar protic solvents, hydrogen-bonding interaction on CT emission has been established from the linear dependency of the position of the low-energy emission maxima on hydrogen-bonding parameter (α). The experimental findings have been correlated with the theoretical results based on TICT model obtained at density functional theory (DFT) level. The theoretical potential energy surface for the first excited state along both the donor and acceptor twist coordinates in the gas phase obtained by time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method and in polar solvent by time dependent density functional theory-polarized continuum model (TDDFT-PCM) method predicts well the experimental spectral properties.     

The influence of solvent and temperature upon the fluorescence,absorption and excitation spectra of some indole derivatives

We have studied the changes undergone by the fluorescence, absorption and excitation spectra of some indole and carbazole derivatives in various solvents (nonpolar, polar and mixtures of nonpolar with polar solvents), at various temperatures, especially at low temperatures. On the basis of these modifications it has been established that both the solvents through specific interactions and the temperature can lead to the formation of new molecular species. It has been observed that these species may appear both in the excited state and in the ground state of the solute. It has been established that in the case of the achievement of some favourable configurations either under the action of solvent or under the combined action of both the solvent and temperature the investigated compounds (with one exception) form an exciplex with n-propylamine.     

Solvent Polarity and Excitation Wavelength Dependence of the Dual Fluorescence in N,N-Diethyl-4-Nitrosoaniline

Dual fluorescence in N,N-Diethyl-4-nitrosoaniline (DENA) has been studied employing absorption, excitation and emission spectroscopic techniques and computational methods. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of DENA were measured in solvents of various polarities at room temperature. The emission spectra of DENA were found to exhibit a single emission band in non polar solvent (cyclohexane) and in a highly polar solvent (acetonitrile). In the contrary, two emission bands were observed in medium polar solvents (tetrahydrofuran, 1,2-dichloroethane and dichloromethane) whereby the short (local excited; LE) and long (charge transfer; CT) emission maxima correspond to the emission maxima of the compound observed in cyclohexane and acetonitrile solutions, respectively. Moreover, the two emission bands have shown strong excitation wavelength dependence, and area normalization resulted in an iso-emissive point. The two emission maxima were in addition found to correspond to two excitation maxima in 3D fluorescence spectra. Further, two minima were obtained in potential energy surface calculation of DENA. From the experimental and computational results it was concluded that the dual fluorescence may be attributed to the presence of two different ground state structural conformers of DENA in equilibrium that are stabilized through solute-solvent interaction.     

Solvatochromic Effect on the Photophysical Properties of Two Coumarins

The absorption and emission spectra of two coumarins namely 7, 8 benzo-4-azidomethyl coumarin (C₁) and 6-methoxy-4-azidomethyl coumarin (C₂) have been recorded at room temperature in solvents of different polarities. The ground state dipole moments (μ _g ) of two coumarins were determined experimentally by Guggenheim method. The exited state (μ _e ) dipole moments were estimated from Lippert’s, Bakhshievs and Chamma-Viallet’s equations by using the variation of Stoke’s shift with the solvent dielectric constant and refractive index. The ground and excited state dipole moments were calculated by means of solvatochromic shift method and also the excited state dipole moments are determined in combination with ground state dipole moments. It was observed that dipole moments of excited state were higher than those of the ground state, indicating a substantial redistribution of the π-electron densities in a more polar excited state for two coumarins.     

Photophysical parameters and laser performance of 3-(4′-dimethylaminophenyl)-1-(2-furanyl)prop-2-en-1-one (DMAFP): A new laser dye

The spectral properties such as singlet absorption, molar absorptivity, emission spectra, fluorescence quantum yield and excited state lifetime of 3-(4′-dimethylaminophenyl)-1-(2-furanyl)prop-2-en-1-one (DMAFP) have been determined in different solvents. DMAFP dye exhibits a large red shift in both electronic absorption and emission spectra as the solvent polarity increases, indicating a large change in the dipole moment of molecules upon excitation. A crystalline solid of DMAFP gives an excimer like emission at 566 nm due to the excitation of molecular aggregates. This is expected from the idealized crystal structure of the dye that belongs to the B-type class of Steven's classification. The ground and excited state protonation constants of DMAFP are calculated and amounted to 1.71 and 8.3, respectively. DMAFP acts as a good laser dye upon pumping with nitrogen laser (λ_ex=337.1 nm) in chloroform, methylene chloride and dioxane and gives laser emission in the range 460–590 nm. The laser parameters such as the tuning range, gain coefficient (α), emission cross section (σ_e) and half-life energy (E_1/2) are calculated. The photoreactivity and net photochemical quantum yield of DMAFP in chloromethane solvents are also studied.     

Fluorescent properties of thiochrome in solvents of different polarity

Spectral and fluorescent properties of thiochrome in solvents of different polarity were studied. It was found that the pK_a value of the transition between the cationic and neutral forms of thiochrome in aqueous solutions increased from ∼5.5 to 9.7 upon photoexcitation. It is supposed that protonation takes place in the excited state of the molecule resulting in fluorescence quenching of the thiochrome neutral form in aqueous solutions at neutral pH values. The fluorescence quantum yield of thiochrome increased by ∼2.2 times upon the transition from aqueous solutions to alcohols or polar aprotic solvents. It was found that an increase of the solvent polarity led to an increase in the Stokes shift from 3200 to 4200 cm⁻¹ for the thiochrome neutral form emission. The change in the dipole moment upon excitation into the S1-state was estimated to be less than 3D.     

Spectral properties of the prototropic forms of fluorescein in aqueous solution

The commonly used fluorescent probe, fluorescein, can exist in seven prototropic forms. We have used global analysis procedures to reanalyze the absorption data of Diehl and Horchak-Morris (Talanta 34, 739–741, 1987) in terms of five alternative ionization models. We identify the forms of fluorescein present in aqueous solution and the pK _a of each ionisation transition. The pK_a values of the neutral xanthene, carboxylic acid, and cationic xanthene groups are 6.3, 3.1–3.4, and 3.1–3.4, respectively, and the pK_a value of lactonization is 2.4. As a consequence, the neutral form of fluorescein is a mixture of the lactone (70%), zwitterionic (15%), and quinoid (15%) forms. A knowledge of the forms present in solution permits the characterization of their spectral properties. It is shown that the quinoid and monoanion forms have similar absorption spectra, while the zwitterion spectrum is similar to that of the cation but blue-shifted by 3 nm. The emission spectra of the monoanion and quinoid forms are also identified and shown to be similar but not identical. A model for the excited-state reactions of fluorescein is presented.     

Excited State Proton Transfer Reaction of 4-Methyl-2,6-dicarbomethoxyphenol in Some Protic Solvents at Room Temperature and 77K: Interaction with Base

The ground and excited state proton transfer reactions of 4-methyl-2,6-dicarbomethoxyphenol (CMOH) have been studied in water and some alcoholic solvents both in the presence and in the absence of base by means of absorption, emission, and nanosecond spectroscopy at room temperature and 77 K. Solute–solvent interaction appears to play a major role in determining the nature of absorbing and fluorescing species in these solvent media. The emission properties of CMOH have been examined in relation to those of 4-methyl-2,6-diformylphenol (MFOH). The spectral characteristics obtained indicates that CMOH in methanol, ethanol, and water exists in more than one structural form in both the ground and excited states. At 77 K the emission spectra show phosphorescence only in the presence of a base. The fluorescence decay rates of CMOH are relatively slower than those of MFOH and nonradiative decays are dominant in the decay process of CMOH. It is proposed that intramolecular hydrogen bond in CMOH is stronger compared to that in MFOH. From our theoretical calculation at AM1 level of approximation suggested that the process is thermodynamically endothermic in the ground state and also encounter high barriers. However, the process becomes exothermic in the excited state.     

Ground and Excited States Proton Transfer Reactions of 1,8-Diaminonaphthalene in Perchloric Acid Solutions

The proton-transfer reaction of 1,8-diaminonaphthalene (1,8-DAN) in acidic medium was studied by means of fluorescence and picosecond spectroscopic techniques. It has been found that there are three different forms of 1,8-DAN in the ground state, but only two different forms in the excited state. The absorption of the mono-cation form of 1,8-DAN is found to be a mixture of the neutral form and the di-cation form. However, the emission is found to be the same as the neutral form, due to the fast dissociation of the mono-cation form once it is excited. The fluorescence of the mono-cation form of 1,8-DAN shows a small shift under different excitation wavelengths. The di-cation form only fluoresces if no free water cluster is available as a proton acceptor. The reaction in the excited state is shown to be a diabatic quenching reaction. With the help of quantum yields and fluorescence lifetime measurements these results are interpreted in terms of a new photochemical scheme. All dissociation and quenching rate constants, pK_a and k_q, have been determined.     

Fluorescence and absorption spectra of Rose-Bengal dye in the presence of surfactants

The fluorescence and absorption spectra of Rose Bengal dye in aqueous solution have been studied in the presence of various nonionic, anionic and cationic surfactants. With cationic and nonionic surfactants, shifts occur in the absorption and emission peaks of the dye solution, with a large enhancement in the absorption and fluorescence intensity at the shifted λ_max. No appreciable change in the absorption and fluorescence spectra of the dye has been observed on the addition of anionic surfactants.All the changes observed in the absorption and fluorescence spectra of the dye solution with surfactants may be attributed, to binding of the surfactant with dye molecules and the disaggregation of the dye multimer forms into the monomeric form.     

Ground state and singlet excited state of laser dye DCM: Dipole moments and solvent induced spectral shifts

The solvent-induced shifts of the absorption and emission spectra of 4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6-p-dimethyl-amino-styryl- 4H-pyran (DCM) have been studied in a variety of solvents. The absorption spectrum of its first singlet excited state has been determined in methanolic solution (λ_max=455nm , ϵ_max=6.2×10⁴ 1 mol^-1 cm^-1).