Solvatochromic fluorescence characteristics of cinnamoyl pyrone derivatives

Abstract The solvatochromic fluorescence behavior of cinnamoyl pyrone derivatives has been studied in several polar and non-polar solvents. The fluorescence spectra of these compounds exhibit red shift from its absorption spectra and present an excellent correlation with solvent polarity. Cinnamoyl pyrones show a significant spectral shift in fluorescence emission as a function of water composition in binary aqueous solutions mixture. This change is due to the specific intermolecular hydrogen bonding of cinnamoyl pyrones with a molecules of water, due to the deactivation of the lowest excited singlet state of these compounds. The relative quantum yields are calculated. It is found that the quantum yields of the cinnamoyl pyrones vary with the change in the solvent polarity indicating the dependency of fluorescence properties on the solvent nature. It has been observed that the addition of water and pH medium can affect the fluorescence properties of cinnamoyl pyrones in ethanol. This study exhibited that due to the solvent sensitive emission, cinnamoyl pyrone derivatives are a good compound to be used as fluorescence probes.