Photoinduced Proton Transfer Promoted by Peripheral Subunits for Some Hantzsch Esters

It is noted that, for a small series of 3,5-diacetyl-1,4-dihydrolutidine (DDL) derivatives and the corresponding Hantzsch esters, the presence of methyl groups at the 2,6-positions serves to extinguish fluorescence in solution but not in the solid state. Emission is weakly activated and affected by changes in solvent polarity. The latter situation arises because the optical transition involves intramolecular charge transfer. Calculations, both semiempirical and DFT, indicate that, in all cases, rotation of the carbonyl function is facile and that the dihydropyridine ring is planar. These calculations also indicate that the 2,6-methyl groups do not affect the generic structure of the molecule. It is proposed that illumination increases the molecular dipole moment and pushes electron density toward the carbonyl oxygen atom. Proton transfer can now occur from one of the methyl groups, leading to formation of a relatively low-energy, neutral intermediate, followed by a second proton transfer step that forms t...