Excited-state Proton Transfer Rate Constant Research Articles

Enhanced Excited-State Proton Transfer via a Mixed Methanol-Water Molecular Bridge of 1-Naphthol-3,6-disulfonate in Methanol-Water Mixtures.

Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques were used to study the excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) from an irreversible photoacid, 1-naphthol-3,6-disulfonate (1NP36DS), to methanol-water mixtures. We found that at χwater = 0.3 the ESPT rate constant is higher by a factor of 10 that in neat methanol. TD-DFT calculations show that a mixed molecular bridge of two methanol molecules and one water molecule enables the ESPT from the 1-OH to the 3-sulfonate. The RO-(S1) state is stable by -2.5 kcal/mol in comparison to the ROH(S1) state. We compare the ESPT rate constants of a reversible photoacid, 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonate (HPTS), in the same methanol-water mixtures. At χwater ≈ 0.3 the ESPT rate constant of HPTS increased by only 15%. We explain the large difference of the ESPT rate of 1NP36DS by the formation of a water bridge or a mixed methanol-water bridge from 1-OH to one of the sulfonates and the absence of such a bridge in HPTS. The water or mixed methanol-water bridge of 1NP36DS enhances the ESPT rate in methanol-water mixtures of low water mole ratio.

Excited-State Proton Transfer from the Photoacid 2-Naphthol-8-sulfonate to Acetonitrile/Water Mixtures.

Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques were used to study excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) to water of the reversible photoacid 2-naphthol-8-sulfonate (2N8S) in acetonitrile/water mixtures. In acetonitrile-rich mixtures, up to χwater ≤ 0.12, we found a slow ESPT process on the order of nanoseconds. At χwater ≈ 0.15, the RO- fluorescence band intensity is at the minimum, whereas at χwater ≈ 0.030, it is at the maximum. The steady-state fluorescence spectra of these mixtures show that the intensity of the RO- fluorescence band at χwater ≈ 0.030 is about 0.24 of that of the ROH band. We explain this unusual phenomenon by the presence of water clusters that exist in the acetonitrile-rich CH3CN/H2O mixtures. We propose that a water bridge forms between the 2-OH and 8-sulfonate by preferential solvation of 2N8S, and this enables the ESPT process between the two sites of the molecular structure of 2N8S. In mixtures of χwater ≥ 0.25, the ESPT process takes place to water clusters in the bulk mixture. The higher the χwater in the mixture, the greater the ESPT rate constant. In neat water, the rate constant is rather small, 4.5 × 109 s-1. TD-DFT calculations show that a single water molecule can bridge between 2-OH and 8-sulfonate in the excited state. The activation energy for the ESPT reaction is about 9 kcal/mol, and the RO-(S1) species is energetically above the ROH(S1) species by about 1.6 kcal/mol.

Enhanced Excited-State Proton Transfer via a Mixed Water-Methanol Molecular Bridge of 1-Naphthol-5-Sulfonate in Methanol-Water Mixtures.

We used steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques to study the excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) and the nonradiative properties of two irreversible photoacids, 1-naphthol-4-sulfonate (1N4S) and 1-naphthol-5-sulfonate (1N5S). We found that the ESPT rate constant of 1N4S in water is 2.2 × 1010 s-1, whereas in methanol, it is smaller by about 3 orders of magnitude and is not observed. The ESPT process of 1N5S competes with a major nonradiative process of equal rate and kPT of 2.2 × 1010 s-1. In methanol-water mixtures of χH2O = 0.2, the fluorescence lifetime of the ROH form of 1N5S is lower by a factor of 10 than that in pure methanol. In the steady-state fluorescence spectra of 1N5S in methanol-water mixtures, there are two iso-emissive points, one for χH2O < 0.2 and one for χH2O > 0.3. This large reduction in fluorescence intensity and the two iso-emissive points are explained by the existence of a mixed water-methanol bridge of about three molecules that connects the proton donor 1-OH with the 5-sulfonate in mixtures of χH2O < 0.2. The bridge enhances both the ESPT and the nonradiative processes. For 1N4S in methanol-water mixtures at χH2O ≈0.2, the reduction in the fluorescence lifetime is only by ∼30%, and only one iso-emissive point exists in the steady-state fluorescence spectra for 0 <χH2O < 1. TD-DFT computations show that a mixed bridge of one water molecule and two methanol molecules that connects the 1-OH with 5-sulfonate is more stable by 7.7 kcal/mol than the 1-OH reactant in the S1 state, and the barrier is only 8.0 kcal/mol. The nonradiative channel is because the S2 dark state is about 4.6 kcal/mol higher than the S1 state.

The photoacidity of phenol chloro benzoate cyanine picolinium salt photoacid in alkanols

Abstract Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques were employed to study the excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) rate to methanol, ethanol and propanol of a new photoacid, the chloro benzoate phenol cyanine picolinium salt (CBCyP). We found that the ESPT rate constants for methanol, ethanol and propanol are about 3 × 1012 s−1, 2 × 1012 s−1 and 1.2 × 1012 s−1 respectively, whereas for water it is 6 × 1012 s−1. The photoacid pKa* in water is about pKa ∼ −7. The kinetic isotope effect as measured from the fluorescence decay rate of the protonated form is 1.5 and 1.25 for methanol and ethanol respectively, whereas in water it is 1.7. We suggest that a nonradiative process takes place and reduces the measured kinetic isotope effect in both methanol and ethanol.

A fresh look into the time-resolved fluorescence of 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonate with the use of the fluorescence up-conversion technique

Abstract Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques were used to study the excited-state-proton-transfer (ESPT) process of 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonate (HPTS) in H 2 O and D 2 O. In this contribution we use the fluorescence up-conversion technique with a time resolution of ∼100 fs to monitor the short-time components of HPTS ROH (protonated) and RO − (deprotonated) signals. The ESPT rate constant, k PT , for HPTS in H 2 O and D 2 O is rather small 10 10 s −1 and 3.3 × 10 9 s −1 , respectively. In the time-resolved fluorescence signal of the deprotonated form we find a rise-component of 2.5 ps which we assign to slow charge rearrangement as was already suggested by Spry and Fayer [Spry, D. B.; Fayer, M. D. Charge Redistribution and Photoacidity: Neutral Versus Cationic Photoacids. J. Chem. Phys . 2008 , 128, 084508-1–084508-9]. Already in the time-window of 0.2–1.2 ns, the proton geminate recombination (GR) fluorescence tail of the ROH form decays as t −α where α ≈ 3/2, as predicted by the diffusion-assisted GR model, but for much longer times ( t > 5 ns). We also found that the rotation-relaxation time of the ROH form is about τ or = 80 ps in H 2 O, shorter than previously reported, whereas in methanol solution, with much lower viscosity, it is much larger – τ or = 190 ps. We explain this large difference of τ or by counter-ion association on all the three sulfonate groups of HPTS.

New Phenol Benzoate Cyanine Picolinium Salt Photoacid Excited-State Proton Transfer.

Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence techniques were employed to study the excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) to water and D2O of a new photoacid, phenol benzoate cyanine picolinium salt (BCyP). We found that the ground-state pKa is about 6.5, whereas the excited-state pKa* is about -4.5. The ESPT rate constant, kPT, to water is ∼0.5 × 1012s-1 (τPT ≈ 2 ps) and in D2O the rate is 0.33 × 1012 s-1. We determined that the BCyP photoacid belongs to the third regime of photoacids, the solvent-controlled regime.

Effect of neutral salts on the excited state proton transfer in the fluorescent probe anchored to the uncharged micelles

Abstract We study the salt effect on the excited state proton transfer (ESPT) in the fluorescent probe of 2-hydroxynaphthalene (dodecylo)-6-sulphonamide (NSDA) anchored on the nonionic Brij35 micelles. The results of spectrofluorimetric, electrophoretic and equilibrium dialysis measurements, allowed us to explain the variations in the ESPT rate constants in the presence of different neutral salts (NaCl, KCl, KSCN, NH 4 SCN) as resulting from anion accumulation at the particle surface. Similarly to electric double layer in the charged micelles, an ionic layer system is also formed around the nonionic micelles. The dimensions of anionic and cationic layers as well as those of the whole ionic envelope around the nonionic particles are estimated. Furthermore, the electric potential generated within the ionic layer system and acting on the proton dissociating from the probe is determined and interpreted. Different impact of Cl − and SCN − ions on photophysical parameters of the targeted system have been explained through a synergy effect between hydrophobicity and polarizability of anions adsorbing on the nonionic micelle surface.Taking into account the existing analogy between micelles and living cells, we can assume that these results will contribute to a better understanding of salt effect in such important biological phenomena as the cell adhesion to surfaces, thermal denaturation of proteins and the aggregation of erythrocytes.

How fast can a proton-transfer reaction be beyond the solvent-control limit?

In this article, we review the field of photoacids. The rate of excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) to solvent spans a wide range of time scales, from tens of nanoseconds for the weakest photoacids to short time scales of about 100 fs for the strongest photoacids synthesized so far. We divide the photoacid strength into four regimes. Regime I includes the weak photoacids 0 < pKa* < 3. These photoacids can transfer a proton only to water or directly to a mild-base molecule in solution. The ESPT rate to other protic solvents, like methanol or ethanol, is too small in comparison with the radiative rate. The second regime includes stronger photoacids whose pKa*'s range from -4 to 0. They are capable of transferring a proton to other protic solvents and not only to water. The third regime includes even stronger photoacids. Their pKa* is ∼ -6, and the ESPT rate constant, kPT, is limited by the orientational time of the solvent which is characterized by the average solvation correlation function ⟨S(t)⟩. The fourth regime sets a new time limit for the ESPT rate of the strongest photoacids synthesized so far. The kPT value of such photoacids is 10(13) s(-1), and τPT = 100 fs. We attribute this new time limit (beyond the solvent control) to intermolecular vibration between the two heavy atoms of the proton donor and the proton acceptor, which assist the ESPT by lowering the height and width of the potential barrier, thus enhancing the ESPT rate.

Ultrafast Excited-State Proton Transfer to the Solvent Occurs on a Hundred-Femtosecond Time-Scale

Steady-state and ultrafast time-resolved techniques were used to study a newly synthesized photoacid, phenol-carboxyether dipicolinium cyanine dye, QCy9. We found that the excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) to water occurs at the remarkably short time of about 100 fs, k(PT) ≈ 1 × 10(13) s(-1), the fastest rate reported up to now. On the basis of the Förster-cycle, the pK(a)* value is estimated to be -8.5 ± 0.4. In previous studies, we reported the photoacidity of another superphotoacid, the QCy7 for which we found an ESPT rate constant of ~1.25 × 10(12) s(-1), one-eighth that of the QCy9 compound. We found a kinetic isotope effect of the ESPT of about two.

Ultrafast Excited-State Intermolecular Proton Transfer of Cyanine Fluorochrome Dyes

Steady-state and time-resolved emission spectroscopy techniques were employed to study the excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) to water and D(2)O from QCy7, a recently synthesized near-infrared (NIR)-emissive dye with a fluorescence band maximum at 700 nm. We found that the ESPT rate constant, k(PT), of QCy7 excited from its protonated form, ROH, is ~1.5 × 10(12) s(-1). This is the highest ever reported value in the literature thus far, and it is comparable to the reciprocal of the longest solvation dynamics time component in water, τ(S) = 0.8 ps. We found a kinetic isotope effect (KIE) on the ESPT rate of ~1.7. This value is lower than that of weaker photoacids, which usually have KIE value of ~3, but comparable to the KIE on proton diffusion in water of ~1.45, for which the average time of proton transfer between adjacent water molecules is similar to that of QCy7.

Effects of surfactant charge and structure on excited-state protolytic dissociation of 1-naphthol in vesicles

The kinetics of protolytic photodissociation of 1-naphthol in the bilayer membrane of cationic vesicles of didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) and dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DOAB) have been studied in comparison with the same reaction in vesicles of a zwitterionic lipid dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC). Evidence for the existence of two fractions (two types of site) of 1-naphthol molecules in vesicles of cationic surfactants which differ strongly in their rate constants for excited-state proton transfer was found, similar to the case for zwitterionic vesicles. The rate constants of the excited-state proton transfer for both fractions are much higher in bilayer membranes of cationic surfactants than for zwitterionic lipids (DPPC and egg lecithin). The activation enthalpy of excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) for both fractions of ArOH in the membrane of DDAB is ca. 40 kJ mol–1, which is much higher than in homogeneous solutions and zwitterionic surfactants. Fluorescence kinetic data for DOAB vesicles allow no reliable conclusions to be drawn as to the temperature dependence of excited-state protolytic dissociation rate constants in these vesicles because the reaction rate is too fast. No significant decrease in the excited-state proton-transfer rate constants at the membrane phase-transition temperature of vesicles of cationic surfactants is observed, in contrast to the zwitterionic lipids. All these features characterize distinctions between the properties of the membranes of the vesicles of cationic and zwitterionic surfactants in proton-transfer reactions.