Spectral properties of protonated naphthylpyridine in the presence of cyclodexrins

Electronic absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the addition of 2-hydroxypropyl cyclodextrin derivatives (HP-α-CD, HP-β-CD, and HP-γ-CD) to an aqueous solution of 4-(2-naphthyl)pyridinium perchlorate (2) results in its partial deprotonation and formation of an inclusion complex of 4-(2-naphthyl)pyridine (1) with the cavitand. The stoichiometry and stability of the inclusion complexes of compounds 1 and 2 and 1-methyl-4-(2-naphthyl)-pyridinium perchlorate (3) with cyclodextrins and their hydroxypropyl derivatives (logK = = 1.5–2.7) were studied by 1H NMR titration. Cyclodextrins with the neutral form 1 form more stable complexes than with ionic compounds 2 and 3. The protonation of the nitrogen atom of compound 2 in aqueous solutions can occur in both the ground and excited states, and the fluorescence spectrum exhibits only the band of the protonated form. Quantum chemical simulation of the deprotonation/protonation processes in an aqueous solution of compound 2 in the absence and presence of HP-β-CD was performed. A tendency for shifting the acid-base equilibrium towards the formation of deprotonated form 1 is observed upon the addition of 2-hydroxypropyl cyclodextrin derivatives to the solution.