Quenching of ππ* triplet states of vaporous polycyclic aromatic compounds by oxygen

Abstract

The oxygen quenching rate constants k T O2 of the triplet state T 1 of vapors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with strongly different oxidation potentials 0.44 eV < E OX < 1.61 eV and energies of the triplet levels 14800 cm−1 < E T < 24500 cm−1 (anthracene, 2-aminoanthracene, 9-nitroanthracene, chrysene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and carbazole) are estimated from the measured dependences of the decay rates and intensities of delayed fluorescence on the oxygen pressure P O2. It is found that the rate constants k T O2 vary from 4 × 103 (9-nitroanthracene) to 4 × 105 s−1 Torr−1 (2-aminoanthracene) and increase with decreasing oxidation potentials E OX of PAHs. The rate constants k T O2 for vapors and solutions are compared. The dependences of k T O2 on the free energy of two intermolecular processes, namely, triplet energy transfer to oxygen and electron transfer, are analyzed. It is shown that the rate constants k T O2 increase with decreasing electron transfer free energy, which proves that, along with energy transfer, charge-transfer interactions contribute to the quenching of the triplet states of PAH vapors.