Photophysical Investigations of
Thiophene Azomethine Derivatives
A series of sterically hindered thiophene-aniline azomethine dyads were prepared. The decay pathways that deactivate the singlet excited state were studied using UV-vis fluorescence and phosphorescence, laser flash photolysis and quantum calculations. Stern-Volmer relationships, derived from singlet and triplet state quenching experiments, showed that azomethines efficiently deactivate the singlet and triplet excited states of fluorophores with bimolecular kinetics. AM1 Semi-empirical quantum calculations examining the effect of bulky substituents on the bond rotational barriers demonstrate that bulky tert-butyl groups attached to the aniline moiety have less influence on the N-aryl bond rotation barrier than alkyl substitutions do on the thiophene-CH bond rotation barrier. Rehm-Weller calculations based on electrochemical potentials demonstrate that azomethines self-quench their excited states via fast and efficient intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer leading to complete fluorescence suppression. Metal complexes containing an azomethine ligand were also prepared. The ligand contains a hydroxyquinoline moiety linked with a thiophene ring. Photophysical investigations of the resulting metal complexes demonstrated significant bathochromic shifts in the absorbance and fluorescence spectra. Metal-ion sensing devices for water solutions were prepared by spin casting the ligand onto glass slides. The metal-ion sensor detected copper in water solutions through a bathochromic shift in the absorbance maximum.
Stern-Volmer rotation photophysical properties azomethine thiophene Stern-Volmer quenching Rehm-Weller equation steric hindrance bond rotation