TheT 1 state ofp-nitroaniline and related molecules: A CNDO/S study

The nature of the lowest energy triplet state (T ₁) ofp-nitroaniline (PNA), N,N-dimethyl-p-nitroaniline (DMPNA) and nitrobenzene (NB) is reexamined using the semiempirical CNDO/S-CI method with selected parameter options. The present results indicate that in the case of theunperturbed molecules the short-axis polarized * n() triplet largely localized at the acceptor end of the molecule may lie lower in energy than the triplet manifold counterpart of the intense intramolecular charge-transferD ⁺ A ^–singlet excitation. Computations suggest, however, that polar solvents strongly stabilize the PNA and DMPNA * charge-transfer triplet relative to other excitations, whereas specific solvent hydrogen-bonded interactions stabilize the * n() triplet of NB below those of * character. These assignments allow a rationalization of phosphorescence lifetime data,T _n T ₁ absorption measurements and relative photochemical behavior.