Solvent effects on emission yield and lifetime for coumarin laser dyes. Requirements for a rotatory decay mechanism

Photophysical parameters have been determined for coumarin laser dyes in a variety of organic solvents, water, and mixed media. The response of fluorescence emission yield and lifetime to changes in solvent polarity was a sensitive function of coumarin substitution pattern. Most important were substituent influences which resulted in enlarged excited-state dipole moments for the fluorescent state. For dyes displaying sharp reductions in emission yield and lifetime with increased solvent polarity, protic media and particularly water were most effective in inhibiting fluorescence. The temperature dependence of emission yield and lifetime was measured for two solvent-sensitive dyes in acetonitrile and in a highly viscous solvent, glycerol. The quenching of coumarin fluorescence by oxygen for dyes with lifetimes > 2 ns was also observed. The dominant photophysical features for coumarin dyes are discussed in terms of emission from an intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) excited state and an important nonradiative decay path involving rotation of the amine functionality (7-position) leading to a twisted intramolecular CT state (TICT). The role of excited-state bond orders involving the rotating group in determining the importance of interconversions of the type ICT ..-->.. TICT is discussed. 73 references, 1 figure, 3 tables.