Comprehensive Studies on Excited-State Proton Transfer of a Series of 2-(2 '-Hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole Derivatives: Synthesis, Optical Properties, and Theoretical Calculations

A group of novel 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole derivatives (1–4) with excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) character were synthesized. Their photophysical properties were studied by means of steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectra and time-resolved emission method as well as theoretical calculation in a variety of solvents. All of these compounds can yield single fluorescence at the green region in nonpolar solvents such as n-hexane, while dual fluorescence consisting of the blue and green bands was captured in strong polar solvents like acetonitrile. In addition, a third emission band between the former two bands was detected for these molecules simultaneously with the blue and green ones generating the well-structured triple fluorescence in protic solvent like ethanol. Systematical comparison of the fluorescence of these compounds in a series of solvents demonstrated that nonpolar solvents would facilitate ESIPT process and the green emission from the keto format, while the ...