Structures of terminal heterocyclic groups and fluorescence-spectral properties of polymethine dyes

Abstract

The fluorescence and absorption bands of carbocyanines containing pyrylium or benzoxazolium groups, their nitrogen-, sulfur-, and selenium-containing analogs, their benzohomologs, or isomeric analogs of pyrylium as terminal groups were mathematically processed using the method of moments. The regularities in the displacement of the absorption and fluorescence bands following the replacement of the heteroatom and variations of the positions of substituents in the terminal groups were explained using perturbation theory. Based on quantum-chemical calculations, the changes in the bond orders in the ground and excited states of the dyes were studied. The correlations between the moments of the experimental absorption and fluorescence bands and the frequency and the form of the chromophore vibrations were analyzed. The transition from pyrylo-4-cyanines to isomeric pyrylo-2-cyanines leads to substantial broadening of the bands, an increase in the Stokes shifts, decreases in the coefficients of asymmetry, kurtosis, and fine structure of the bands, as well as a decrease in the quantum yield of fluorescence.