Photophysical properties and excited state intramolecular proton transfer in 2-hydroxy-5-[(E)-(4-methoxyphenyl)diazenyl]benzoic acid in homogeneous solvents and micro-heterogeneous environments

A systematic study on the photophysical properties and excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) behavior of 2-hydroxy-5-[(E)-(4-methoxyphenyl)diazenyl]benzoic acid, is reported using steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy in homogeneous solvents as well as in different micro-heterogeneous environments. Depending on the nature of intramolecular hydrogen bond (IHB), the salicylic acid derivative may exist in two different ground state conformers (I and II). Structure I having IHB between the carbonyl oxygen and phenolic hydrogen can undergo ESIPT upon excitation as evidenced by largely Stokes-shifted fluorescence at ~455 nm; whereas, normal fluorescence in the blue side of the spectrum (~410 nm) is due to the spontaneous emission from conformer II. The results in homogeneous solvents were compared with those in bio-mimicking environments of β-cyclodextrin (CD) and surfactants. The intensity of the ESIPT fluorescence increases substantially upon encapsulation of the probe into the cyclodextrin as well as micellar nano-cavities. Detailed analysis of the spectroscopic data indicates that the probe forms 1:1 complex with CD in aqueous medium. Binding constant of the probe with the micelles as well as critical micelle concentration was obtained from the variation of fluorescence intensity on increasing concentration of different surfactants in aqueous medium.