Effect of temperature on the dynamic quenching of the dual fluorescence of molecules

The properties of the dual fluorescence of 3-hydroxyflavone in acetonitrile are studied under conditions of dynamic quenching by the spin quencher TEMPO in the temperature range from 20 to 80°C. 3-Hydroxyflavone is characterized by the intramolecular excited state proton transfer and its spectrum consists of two well-spaced fluorescence bands belonging to the normal and tautomeric forms. The fluorescence was selectively excited at wavelengths of 290, 304, and 340 nm, belonging to different absorption bands of the luminophore. The character and degree of the temperature quenching of the fluorescence depend on the excitation wavelength and are considerably different for normal and tautomeric fluorescence bands. The Stern-Volmer constants for both forms, calculated from the experimental data on the assumption of the diffusion mechanism of quenching of the excited states, increase with temperature. Both in the pure solutions and in the solutions with the quencher, the intensity ratio of the fluorescence of the initial form and the product increases with heating in the entire temperature range from 20 to 80°C for all the above excitation wavelengths.