Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy for studying stepwise excited-state intramolecular double proton transfer

Nowadays, single excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) is well studied and widely reported. However, excited-state multiple intramolecular proton transfer has not been thoroughly researched until the past decade. And now there is an increasing scientific interest not only in single but also in multiple ESIPT processes occurred in various molecules, because it offers great opportunities to apply such compounds in chemical sen-sors, molecular switches, NIR emitting devices and liquid crystals with high fluorescence. A stepwise excited-state intramolecular double proton transfer (ESIDPT) is among such multiple ESIPT processes. Similar to the single ESIPT, stepwise ESIDPT also occurs via an intramolecular hydrogen bonding way. But in the stepwise ESIDPT, two proton transfers occur sequentially in a molecule, because there is only one proton transfer site in the initial molecular structure. Then, after the first ESIPT, an additional proton transfer site appears, and the second proton transfer will occur.In this work, an emission of stepwise ESIDPT-active molecules was studied from the point of view of a time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The theoretical model for emission decay was discussed on the basis of a six states model. This model consists of three pairs of ground and excited states for normal molecular form and two tautomers. It leads to three-exponential equations for emission decay functions. It was shown that a thorough analysis of fluorescence decay curves allows to estimate the total decay rate constants for each excited molecular form. The proposed model has been validated for a numerically simulated case. The experimental data have also been discussed from the point of view of the proposed model.