Unusual high fluorescence of two nitro-distyrylbenzene-like compounds induced by CT processes affecting the fluorescence/intersystem-crossing competition

Two nitro-substituted 1,4-distyrylbenzene-like compounds have been investigated using stationary and time- resolved (ns/fs) spectrometric techniques as a function of solvent polarity. In the two compounds the central benzene ring is substituted with a p-nitrostyryl group at one side while, at the other side, compound 1 (asymmetric) bears a pyrid-4-ylethenyl group and compound 2 (symmetric) another p-nitrostyryl group. The solvent dependent intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) in the singlet manifold was found to strongly affect the competition among fluorescence, intersystem crossing and trans–cis photoisomerization. The presence of nitro-groups in the 1,4-distyrylbenzene skeleton causes the usual strong decrease of fluorescence in favour of intersystem crossing to a reactive triplet state. However, the favoured formation of the ICT state in polar solvents induces an unexpected important increase of the fluorescence quantum yield (three/two order of magnitude for the nitro and dinitro derivatives, respectively). The ultrafast spectral transients helped to understand the solvent effects measured by stationary techniques and gave information on the dynamics of the locally excited singlet state (1LE*) and the 1ICT* state, fast produced in polar solvents. Evidence of dual fluorescence in a limited range of solvent polarity, particularly for compound 1, is also reported. The role of an upper triplet state in a non-polar solvent is discussed also based on quantum- mechanical calculations (TD-DFT method) and temperature effects on the photophysical parameters.