Abstract
The absorption and fluorescence spectra of a series of 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives incorporating the amino functionality at the 2-, 3- and 4-positions of the naphthalene ring (2APNI, 3APNI and 4APNI, respectively) were systematically investigated in various solvents and in the solid state. The fluorescence spectra of 2APNI were insensitive to solvent polarity and intermolecular hydrogen-bonding even in a protic medium such as methanol. Thus, 2APNI displayed blue fluorescence with a moderate fluorescence quantum yield (\(\lambda _{\max }^{\text{F}} = 420 - 445\,{\text{nm}}\), ΦF 0.2–0.3) in the solvents investigated. In contrast, the fluorescence spectra of 3APNI and 4APNI were strongly solvent dependent showing positive solvatofluorochromism with large Stokes shifts. Upon increasing the solvent polarity, the fluorescence colours changed from blue in hexane (\(\lambda _{\max }^{\text{F}} = 429\,{\text{nm}}\)) to orange-yellow in methanol (\(\lambda _{\max }^{\text{F}} = 564\,{\text{nm}}\)) for 3APNI, and from blue in hexane (\(\lambda _{\max }^{\text{F}} = 460\,{\text{nm}}\)) to yellow in methanol (\(\lambda _{\max }^{\text{F}} = 538\,{\text{nm}}\)) for 4APNI. The fluorescence quantum yields of 3APNI and 4APNI decreased with increasing solvent polarity. In the solid state, APNIs displayed red-shifted fluorescence emission compared to that in solution (\(\lambda _{\max }^{\text{F}} = 541\,{\text{nm}}\) for 2APNI, 575 nm for 3APNI, and 561 nm for 4APNI) and the fluorescence quantum yields in the solid state were lower than those in solution.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M. H. Lee, J. S. Kim, J. L. Sessler, Small molecule-based ratiometric fluorescence probes for cations, anions, and biomolecules, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2015, 44, 4185–4191.
M. S. T. Gonçalves, Fluorescent labeling of biomolecules with organic probes, Chem. Rev., 2009, 109, 190–212.
Z. Yang, J. Cao, Y. He, J. H. Yang, T. Kim, X. Peng, J. S. Kim, Macro-/micro-environment-sensitive chemosensing and biological imaging, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2014, 43, 4563–4601.
E. Pazos, O. Vazquez, J. L. Mascareñas, M. E. Vázquez, Peptide-based fluorescent biosensors, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2009, 38, 3348–3359.
L. E. Santos-Figueroa, M. E. Moragues, E. Climent, A. Agostini, R. Martínez-Máñez, F. Sancenón, Chromogenic and fluorogenic chemosensors and reagents for anions. A comprehensive review of the years 2010-2011, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, 42, 3489–3613.
B. Valeur, I. Leray, Design principles of fluorescent molecular sensors for cation recognition, Coord. Chem. Rev., 2000, 205, 3–40.
J. F. Callan, A. P. de Silva, D. C. Magri, Luminescent sensors and switches in the early 21st century, Tetrahedron, 2005, 61, 8551–8588.
A. P. De Silva, T. S. Moody, G. D. Wright, Fluorescent PET (Photoinduced Electron Transfer) sensors as potent analytical tools, Analyst, 2009, 134, 2385–2393.
L. Fabbrizzi, M. Licchelli, G. Rabaioli, A. Taglietti, The design of luminescent sensors for anions and ionisable analytes, Coord. Chem. Rev., 2000, 205, 85–108.
H. Okamoto, H. Konishi, M. Kohno, K. Satake, Fluorescence response of a 4-trifluoroacetylaminophthalimide to iodide ions upon 254 nm irradiation in MeCN, Org. Lett., 2008, 10, 3125–3128.
H. Okamoto, H. Konishi, K. Satake, Fluorescence response of 3-trifluoroacetylaminophthalimide to a Li+-I− ion pair induced by 254 nm photolysis in acetonitrile, Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 2346–2348.
V. Balzani, M. Venturi and A. Credi, Molecular Devices and Machines: A Journey into the Nano World, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2003.
A. P. De Silva, Molecular Logic-based Computing, Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambrige, UK, 2013.
B. L. Feringa and W. R. Browne, Molecular Switches, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2011.
E. Krystkowiak, K. Dobek, A. Maciejewski, Origin of the strong effect of protic solvents on the emission spectra, quantum yield of fluorescence and fluorescence lifetime of 4-aminophthalimide: Role of hydrogen bonds in deactivation of S1-4-aminophthalimide, J. Photochem. Photobiol., A, 2006, 184, 250–264.
S. Das, A. Datta, K. Bhattacharyya, Deuterium isotope effect on 4-aminophthalimide in neat water and reverse micelles, J. Phys. Chem. A, 1997, 101, 3299–3304.
A. Morimoito, T. Yatsuhashi, T. Shimada, L. Biczók, D. A. Tryk, H. Inoue, Radiationless deactivation of an intramolecular charge transfer excited state through hydrogen bonding: Effect of molecular structure and hard−soft anionic character in the excited state, J. Phys. Chem. A, 2001, 105, 10488–10496.
A. M. Durantini, R. D. Falcone, J. D. Anunziata, J. J. Silber, E. B. Abuin, E. A. Lissi, N. M. Correa, An interesting case where water behaves as a unique solvent. 4-Aminophthalimide emission profile to monitor aqueous environment, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2013, 117, 2160–2168.
D. C. Khara, S. Banerjee, A. Samanta, Does excited-state proton-transfer reaction contribute to the emission behaviour of 4-aminophthalimide in aqueous media?, ChemPhysChem, 2014, 15, 1793–1798.
G. Weber, F. J. Farris, Synthesis and spectral properties of a hydrophobic fluorescent probe: 6-propionyl-2-(dimethylamino) naphthalene, Biochemistry, 1979, 18, 3075–3078.
D. Noukakis, P. Suppan, Photophysics of aminophthalimides in solution I. Steady-state spectroscopy, J. Lumin., 1991, 47, 285–295.
B. Valeur and M. N. Berberan-Santos, Molecular Fluorescence: Principles and Applications, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2012.
Z. R. Grabowski, K. Rotkiewicz, W. Rettig, Structural changes accompanying intramolecular electron transfer: focus on twisted intramolecular charge-transfer states and structures, Chem. Rev., 2003, 103, 3899–4032.
X. Liu, Q. Qiao, W. Tian, W. Liu, J. Chen, M. J. Lang, Z. Xu, Aziridinyl fluorophores demonstrate bright fluorescence and superior photostability by effectively inhibiting twisted intramolecular charge transfer, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2016, 138, 6960–6963.
R. Orita, M. Franckevičius, A. Vyšniauskas, V. Gulbinas, H. Sugiyama, H. Uekusa, K. Kanosue, R. Ishige, S. Ando, Enhanced fluorescence of phthalimide compounds induced by the incorporation of electron-donating alicyclic amino groups, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018, 20, 16033–16044.
Z. Szakács, S. Rousseva, M. Bojtár, D. Hessz, I. Bitter, M. Kállay, M. Hilbers, H. Zhang, M. Kubinyi, Experimental evidence of TICT state in 4-piperidinyl-1,8-naphthalimide-a kinetic and mechanistic study, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018, 20, 10155–10164.
P. Kucheryavy, G. Li, S. Vyas, C. Hadad, K. D. Glusac, Electronic properties of 4-substituted naphthalimides, J. Phys. Chem. A, 2009, 113, 6453–6461.
M. E. Vázquez, J. B. Blanco, B. Imperiali, Photophysics and biological applications of the environment-sensitive fluorophore 6-N,N-dimethylamino-2, 3-naphthalimide, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 1300–1306.
M. E. Vázquez, J. B. Blanco, S. Salvadori, C. Trapella, R. Argazzi, S. D. Bryant, Y. Jinsmaa, L. H. Lazarus, L. Negri, E. Giannini, 6-N,N-dimethylamino-2,3-naphthalimide: a new environment-sensitive fluorescent probe in δ-and μ-selective opioid peptides, J. Med. Chem., 2006, 49, 3653–3658.
M. Fujii, M. Namba, M. Yamaji, H. Okamoto, Solvent-induced multicolor fluorescence of amino-substituted 2,3-naphthalimides studied by fluorescence and transient absorption measurements, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2016, 15, 842–850.
R. M. Duke, E. B. Veale, F. M. Pfeffer, P. E. Kruger, T. Gunnlaugsson, Colorimetric and fluorescent anion sensors: an overview of recent developments in the use of 1,8-naphthalimide-based chemosensors, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2010, 39, 3936–3953.
G. Loving, B. Imperiali, A versatile amino acid analogue of the solvatochromic fluorophore 4-N,N-dimethylamino-1,8-naphthalimide: a powerful tool for the study of dynamic protein interactions, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2008, 130, 13630–13638.
P. Gopikrishna, N. Meher, P. K. Iyer, Functional 1,8-naphthalimide AIE/AIEEgens: recent advances and prospects, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2017, 10, 12081–12111.
S. Banerjee, E. B. Veale, C. M. Phelan, S. A. Murphy, G. M. Tocci, L. J. Gillespie, D. O. Frimannsson, J. M. Kelly, T. Gunnlaugsson, Recent advances in the development of 1, 8-naphthalimide based DNA targeting binders, anticancer and fluorescent cellular imaging agents, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, 42, 1601–1618.
M. S. Alexiou, V. Tychopoulos, S. Ghorbanian, J. H. P. Tyman, R. G. Brown, P. Brittain, The UV–visible absorption and fluorescence of some substituted 1,8-naphthalimides and naphthalic anhydrides, J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 2, 1990, 837–842.
D. Gendron, E. Gann, K. Pattison, F. Maasoumi, C. R. McNeill, S. E. Watkins, P. L. Burn, B. J. Powell, P. E. Shaw, Synthesis and properties of pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole-1,4-diones (isoDPP) derivatives, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2014, 2, 4276–4288.
C. Markl, D. Zlotos, A novel synthesis of the antidepressant agomelatine, Synthesis, 2011, 79–82.
J. Cason, A. Weiss, S. A. Monti, Synthesis of four methoxy-substituted 1,8-naphthalic anhydrides and of the three monomethyl-1,8-naphthalic anhydrides, J. Org. Chem., 1968, 33, 3404–3408.
Y. Xia, P. Qu, Z. Liu, R. Ge, Q. Xiao, Y. Zhang, J. Wang, Catalyst-free intramolecular formal carbon insertion into sigma-C-C bonds: a new approach toward phenanthrols and naphthols, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2013, 52, 2543–2546.
R. G. Parr and W. Yang, Density-functional Theory of Atoms and Molecules, Oxford University Press, New York, 1989.
C. Adamo, V. Barone, Toward reliable density functional methods without adjustable parameters: The PBE0 model, J. Chem. Phys., 1999, 110, 6158–6170.
M. P. Andersson, P. Uvdal, New scale factors for harmonic vibrational frequencies using the B3LYP density functional method with the triple-ζ basis set 6-311+G(d,p), J. Phys. Chem. A, 2005, 109, 2937–2941.
A. E. Reed, R. B. Weinstock, F. Weinhold, Natural population analysis, J. Chem. Phys., 1985, 83, 735–746.
G. Jones, W. R. Jackson, C. Y. Choi, W. R. Bergmark, Solvent effects on emission yield and lifetime for coumarin laser dyes. requirements for a rotatory decay mechanism, J. Phys. Chem., 1985, 89, 294–300.
M. Tichy, The determination of intramolecular hydrogen bonding by infrared spectroscopy and its applications in stereochemistry, Adv. Org. Chem., 1965, 5, 115–298.
R. E. Stratmann, G. E. Scuseria, M. J. Frisch, An efficient implementation of time-dependent density-functional theory for the calculation of excitation energies of large molecules, J. Chem. Phys., 1998, 109, 8218–8224.
V. Barone, M. Cossi, Quantum calculation of molecular energies and energy gradients in solution by a conductor solvent model, J. Phys. Chem. A, 1998, 102, 1995–2001.
S. Saha, A. Samanta, Influence of the structure of the amino group and polarity of the medium on the photophysical behavior of 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimide derivatives, J. Phys. Chem. A, 2002, 106, 4763–4771.
A. Pardo, E. Martin, J. Poyato, J. Camacho, M. Brana, J. Castellano, Synthesis and photophysical properties of some N-substituted-1,8-naphthalimides, J. Photochem. Photobiol., A, 1987, 41, 69–78.
E. Lippert, Dipolmoment und Elektronenstruktur von angeregten Molekülen, Z. Naturforsch., A: Phys. Sci., 1955, 10, 541–545.
N. Mataga, Y. Kaifu, M. Koizumi, The solvent effect on fluorescence spectrum, change of solute-solvent interaction during the lifetime of excited solute molecule, Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn., 1955, 28, 690–691.
L. Onsager, Electric moments of molecules in liquids, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1936, 58, 1486–1493.
S. Mukherjee, A. Chattopadhyay, A. Samanta, T. Soujanya, Dipole moment change of NBD group upon excitation studied using solvatochromic and quantum chemical approaches: Implications in membrane research, J. Phys. Chem., 1994, 98, 2809–2812.
K. Okada, M. Yamaji, H. Shizuka, Laser photolysis investigation of induced quenching in photoreduction of benzophenone by alkylbenzenes and anisoles, J. Chem. Soc., Faraday Trans., 1998, 94, 861–866.
B. Bhattacharya, A. Samanta, Laser flash photolysis study of the aminophthalimide derivatives: Elucidation of the nonradiative deactivation route, Chem. Phys. Lett., 2007, 442, 316–321.
Acknowledgments
Part of the present study was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. JP17K05976 and JP18H02043) from the JSPS. The authors thank the Micro-Elemental-Analysis Laboratory of Okayama University for the combustion analyses of the novel compounds.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, L., Fujii, M., Yamaji, M. et al. Fluorescence behaviour of 2-, 3- and 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimides: effects of the substitution positions of the amino functionality on the photophysical properties. Photochem Photobiol Sci 17, 1319–1328 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1039/c8pp00302e
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c8pp00302e