Quenching of excited states of pyrene sulfonate solutions and their metal complexes by molecular oxygen

The results of study of fluorescence quenching, by molecular oxygen, of unsubstituted pyrene solutions within the framework of exchange complex are generalized. The oxygen quenching rate constants of the fluorescence and triplet state of pyrene monosulfonate and pyrene tetrasulfonate solutions and their aggregates and complexes (second and first coordination spheres) with REE ions in H₂O, DMSO, and DMFA are measured. The effect of the number of substituting sulfo groups, aggregates, complex formation, and the nature of the solvent on the efficiency of this quenching is investigated. It is shown that, in contrast to metalloporphyrins with the paramagnetic Cu(II) ion, the formation of pyrenesulfonates complexes with REE paramagnetic ions does not lead to an increase in oxygen quenching efficiency of the triplet state of organic ligands.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Eksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 302–311, May–June, 1987.The authors express their deep gratitude to Prof. V. L. Ermmolaev for a fruitful discussion of the results.