MICELLAR EFFECTS ON INTRAMOLECULAR CHARGE-TRANSFER EMISSION FROM BIPHENYLCARBOXYLIC ACIDS

The intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) phenomena of the photoexcited 2-biphenylcarboxylic acid (2BPCA) and 4-biphenylcarboxylic acid (4BPCA) have been investigated in some surfactant micellar solutions. The ICT emission of 4BPCA and 2BPCA in aqueous solution at sufficiently low pH (1-3) has been observed to be markedly quenched and blue-shifted upon addition of a cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) in contrast to little change in anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and neutral Brij 35. An anionic emission band has been observed to be enhanced at expense of the ICT emission as a function of the concentration of CTAC. These results with the micellar effects on the fluorescence decay kinetics of 4BPCA suggest that formation of the ICT state of the excited acids is inhibited by CTAC-induced proton transfer as well as the decrease in the polarity and/or hydrogen-bonding ability of the micellar microenvironment entrapping the acids.