THE 1-CYANONAPHTHALENE EXCIMER IN HOMOGENEOUS AND MICELLAR SOLUTIONS

Abstract— An excimer of 1-cyanonaphthalene is produced in homogeneous organic solvents and in micelle containing detergent solutions. From solvent effects in homogeneous solution it is concluded that the excimer is relatively polar (dipole moment ∼ 4D). From a comparison with emission from that observed in homogeneous solvents, it is concluded that 1-cyanonaphthalene is solubilized mainly in the Stern Layer of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (HDTBr) micelles. The influence of variation of detergent concentration on the excimer to monomer emission ratio and the influence of NaCl concentration on the excimer to monomer emission ratio have been determined. Excimer formation is shown to be a convenient method for determination of the Kraft point of SDS solutions.