Synthesis and photophysical studies of donor-acceptor substituted tetrahydropyrenes

Abstract

The tetrahydropyrene derivatives 2-N,N-dimethylamino-7-nitro-4,5,9,10-tetrahydropyrene (1) and 2-N,N-dimethylamino-7-acetyl-4,5,9,10-tetrahydropyrene (2) were synthesized and characterized. Photophysical properties of these molecules were investigated in several solvents. The absorption spectrum of 1 shows a slight red shift with solvent polarity, whereas that of 2 remains more or less unchanged. Fluorescence spectra of these compounds exhibit large, solvent-polarity-dependent Stokes shifts. The Stokes shifts are correlated to E_T(30) and E^N_T parameters and were quantitatively analyzed by the Mataga-Liptay equation. Both compounds show low fluorescence quantum yields in cyclohexane. Nanosecond flash photolysis studies suggested that the low quantum yield in cyclohexane is due to intersystem crossing to a triplet state. In the case of 2, the fluorescence quantum yields are high in all other solvents. In the case of 1 fluorescence quantum yields are very low in polar solvents and this is explained by invoking a twisted intramolecular charge transfer state.