Organic Letters
Letter
in the zwitterion structure and the electronic absorption spectra
of the zwitterionic p-TsABDI and the p-TsABDI anion are
almost the same.
TsABDI exists in the zwitterionic structure, whose electronic
absorption and fluorescent emission spectra are almost the
same as those of the p-TsABDI anion. In comparison with
HPTS (pKa = 7.4, pKa* = 1.3 in water),4d which is one of the
best, highly used photoacids for pH-jump studies, p-TsABDI
(pKa = 6.7, pK*a = −1.5 in DMSO) is a better photoacid than
HPTS for pH-jump studies. Unlike p-HBDI, p-TsABDI
displays ESPT so it qualifies to be a model for further study
of the ESPT-related photophysics of GFP. Hopefully, it could
be used to uncover the photophysics of the GFP blinking
phenomenon as well.
Upon increasing the water percentage of mixed CH3CN−
H2O solvents, both the major and the weak shoulder
fluorescent emissions of p-TsABDI at 437 and 512 nm and
the fluorescent emission of the p-TsABDI anion at 507 nm
decreases significantly. It is likely because hydrogen bonding
with water increases radiationless relaxation of their S1 excited
states.11 When the water percentage of mixed CH3CN−H2O
solvents reaches 100%, the fluorescent emissions of p-TsABDI
and the p-TsABDI anion are both located at 502 nm, indicating
that the emission spectra of the zwitterionic p-TsABDI and the
p-TsABDI anion are also almost the same.
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
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S
* Supporting Information
To understand the ground-state acid strength of p-TsABDI,
Shi’s method12a was used, and the ground-state pKa values of
N−H acids of formamide and p-TsABDI in DMSO were
calculated using the combined methods of B3PW91/6-311+
+G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d)//HF//CPCM/UA0. The
calculated ground-state pKa value of formamide in DMSO is
23.1, which is very close to the experimental value of 23.5.2d
The calculated ground-state pKa value of p-TsABDI in DMSO
is 6.7. This is consistent with the experimental result that p-
TsABDI, which exists as a neutral structure in CH3CN and
DMSO, turns into a zwitterionic structure in water.
The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the
Acidity, synthesis, characterization, H and 13C NMR
1
AUTHOR INFORMATION
■
Corresponding Author
ORCID
According to the thermodynamics of the Forster cycle,4a an
excited state is a stronger acid than its ground state if the
absorption or emission spectrum of the conjugated base is
characterized by a red shift, relative to that of the conjugated
acid.4a Hence, the S1 excited state of p-TsABDI is a stronger
acid than its ground state. The Forster equation is
Present Address
†Faculty of Family Medicine, Northern Ontario School of
Medicine, Ontario, Canada.
Notes
(hυ1 − hυ2)
*
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
pKa = pKa − N
A
2.3RT
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank the National Science Council of Taiwan for financial
support (No. NSC104-2119-M-006-013).
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where frequency (υ) is suggested to be the average of
absorption frequency (υa) and fluorescence frequency (υf) for
better accuracy.12b In the case of p-TsABDI in DMSO,
c
c
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+
■
(
)
λa(378 nm)
λf (425 nm)
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υ1 =
2
for p-TsABDI and
c
c
+
(
)
λa(450 nm)
λf (501 nm)
υ2 =
2
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for the p-TsABDI anion (see Table 1). Then, the value of
ΔpKa* (ΔpKa* = pKa* − pKa) is equal to −8.2. The pKa* value of
the S1 excited state of p-TsABDI in DMSO is −1.5, which is
low enough to be able to protonate DMSO, CH3CN, and THF,
causing the ESPT. The pKa* value of the S1 excited state of p-
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has a much stronger photoacid strength.
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state, which is important evidence for the ESPT. In water, p-
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