Effectively controlling luminescent property and the ESIPT behavior of styryl dyes by atomic substituent

Abstract

In view of the unique luminescent characteristics, excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) materials have attracted lots of attention. Considering the influence of different atomic substituents on the photophysical properties and ESIPT reaction, we systematically studied the molecular and electronic properties of styryl dyes with O, S and Se substituents by the quantum chemistry methods. The results indicated that the ESIPT energy barrier of styryl dyes reduced with atomic substituents (O < S < Se). And potential energy curves (PECs) showed that the ultra-fast ESIPT reaction of styryl dyes could be controlled and regulated by atomic substituents. In addition, the styryl dyes had a large stokes shift, which reproduced the double fluorescence properties. It meaned that the enol and keto structures of three styryl dyes interconvert by ESIPT channel under the photoexcitation. Therefore, the special optical properties of styryl dyes could improve their application as potential biological imaging.