barely interacts with either the azomethine or the hydroxy
groups of the Schiff base, resulting in a weak intramolecular
hydrogen bond being formed between the hydroxy and azome-
thine groups of the Schiff base. This may be related to the result
that the n→π* transition band could not be observed in cyclo-
hexane solution. On the other hand, not only the π→π* transi-
tion bands but also the n→π* transition band (410 nm) could
be observed in polar solvents such as chloroform. The n→π*
transition band increased its intensity and was slightly blue
shifted with an increase in the polarity of the solvents, although
the π→π* transition bands were almost independent of the
solvent’s polarity. Furthermore, a new band appeared at 280
nm in alcohol, which had the highest polarity of the solvents
used. This new band is probably associated with the phenolic
chromophore, because the intramolecular hydrogen bond is
usually broken in the alcohol solution.7
Fig. 3(b) shows the fluorescence spectra of 1c obtained by
the excitation wavelength of 410 nm in several solvents except
for cyclohexane. Light absorption of 1c at 410 nm in cyclo-
hexane was extremely small, thus the 320 nm excitation wave-
length was used for the fluorescence measurements of the
cyclohexane solution. A broad fluorescence peak appeared at
ca. 510 nm in the various solutions, except for alcohol. The
alcohol solution brought about much stronger fluorescence
than the other solutions, but the fluorescence peak appeared at
450 nm. Polar solvents tended to give stronger fluorescence
than non-polar solvents. The spectral patterns were indepen-
dent of the excitation wavelength of 255, 320 or 410 nm for all
samples.
Fig. 3(c) shows the excitation spectra of 1c in several solvents
at each fluorescence maximum. The spectral patterns in the
aprotic solvents were similar to those of the corresponding
absorption spectra. On the other hand, the spectral pattern in
the alcohol solution was quite different from those in the other
solvents; the excitation peaks appeared at 280 and 350 nm.
While the 280 nm band is compatible with an absorption band
due to the phenolic chromophore, the 350 nm band is in conflict
with the absorption spectra.
Fig. 4 Fluorescence intensities normalized with the absorptivity vs.
the oriented polarizability f (ε, n) of several solvents. (a) 320 nm
excitation, (b) 410 nm excitation. Triangle: cyclohexane, square: 1,4-
dioxane, star: dichloromethane, circle: chloroform, pentagon: aceto-
nitrile, inverted triangle: propan-2-ol, diamond: methanol. f (ε, n) =
n2 Ϫ 1
ε Ϫ 1
2ε ϩ 1 2n2 ϩ 1
Fluorescence intensity compared with 1c in chloroform.
ͩ
Ϫ
ͪ
, ε = relative permittivity, n = refractive index.
molar absorptivities which vary depending on the polarity of
the solvent.
If the solvent can compete with the hydrogen atom of the
hydroxy group in forming a hydrogen bond with the nitrogen
lone pair, it would be expected that the intramolecular hydrogen
bond tends to be weakened in polar solvents such as alcohol.
Previously, Charette et al. have observed 280 and 350 nm bands
in the absorption spectra of the N-salicylidenepropan-2-amine
in acid solution, and suggested that these originated from its
protonated form.12 Sharm et al. reported that the acid dissoci-
ation constant pKa of a Schiff base was 15.4 in the excited
state and 8.51 in the ground state, indicating that Schiff bases
could easily accept protic solvents in the excited state.13 From
these facts, it can be considered that the Schiff base in a protic
solvent such as alcohol becomes solvated, and the structure or
conformation around the azomethine groups might cause a
big change by the strong interaction between the azomethine
nitrogen and alcohol molecule. The fluorescence species for the
excited state in alcohol seems to be different from that in an
aprotic solvent.
From the observed results, it can be considered that the
solvents that can strongly interact with the azomethine or
hydroxy group bring about strong fluorescence of the com-
pound. Fig. 4 shows normalized fluorescence intensity with the
molar absorptivity plotted against the orientation polarizability
f (ε, n) of the solvent.14–16 As is shown in Fig. 4, fluorescence
efficiency is not dependent on the polarity of the solvent except
for alcohol. Alcohol gave high fluorescence efficiency only
in the case of 320 nm excitation. However, as is described
above, protonation can occur in protic solvents and induce
changes of fluorescence species in the excited states. Thus, it
is not appropriate to compare the fluorescence efficiency in
alcohol with other solutions. Consequently, it can be said that
the fluorescence intensity of 1c is simply dependent upon the
Effect of the substituent on the azomethine carbon
As the transition bands for the azomethine group seem to be
mainly responsible for the fluorescence, a change in the electron
density of the azomethine group by several substituents
must bring about certain changes in both the absorption and
fluorescence. Thus, the substituent effect of the carbon of the
azomethine group upon the absorption and fluorescence
spectra was examined here.
Fig. 5(a) shows the absorption spectra of N,NЈ-bis(α-
substituted salicylidene)ethylenediamine in chloroform. Three
absorption bands of the π→π* (255 and 320 nm) and n→π*
(410 nm) transitions appeared in the respective spectra. While
the peak wavelengths and intensities of the π→π* transition
bands were almost independent of the substituents, the
n→π* transition was sensitive to the substituents. The molar
absorptivities of the n→π* transition band of 2, 3 and 4 were
larger than that of 1a.
Fig. 5(b) shows the fluorescence spectra of N,NЈ-bis(α-
substituted salicylidene)ethylenediamine in chloroform. The
peak at 460 nm is due to Raman scattering of chloroform as
mentioned above.8 2, 3 and 4 showed a fluorescence peak at
510 nm which was independent of the excitation wavelength.
On the other hand, 1a gave a fluorescence peak at 510 nm in
the case of 255 or 320 nm excitation, but at 450 nm by 410 nm
excitation for which the spectral pattern was similar to that of
1c in the alcohol solution described in the previous section. The
excitation spectrum of 1a at 450 nm was also similar to that of
1c in the alcohol solution, namely peaks appeared at 280 and
350 nm.
The lone pair electrons on the nitrogen atom can form a
J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 2, 1999, 193–198
195