Über das «pK» elektronisch angeregter Azulenium-Kationen

It is shown that azulenium cations in the first electronically excited state S₁ are stronger acids than in the ground state S₀. Their apparent pK″*, obtained from the H₀-dependence of the quenching of the azulenium cation S₁ → S₀ fluorescence does not correspond to a true acid-base equilibrium in the electronically excited state S₁. The pK″* values are kinetically controlled, the rate of reprotonation of azulene in the S₁ state being too low to compete with the internal conversion to S₀.