Proton Transfer Assisted Charge Transfer Phenomena in Photochromic Schiff Bases and Effect of –NEt₂ Groups to the Anil Schiff Bases

Photochromic Schiff bases 5-diethylamino-2-[(4-diethylamino-benzylidene)-hydrazonomethyl]-phenol (DDBHP) and N,N'-bis(4-N,N-diethylaminosalisalidene) hydrazine (DEASH) with both the proton and charge transfer moieties have been synthesized, and their photophysical properties such as excited state intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and proton transfer (ESIPT) processes have been reported on the basis of steady-state and time-resolved spectral measurement in various solvents. The ground-state six-membered intramolecular hydrogen bonding network at the proton transfer site accelerates the ESIPT process for these compounds. Both the compounds show large Stokes-shifted emission bands for proton transfer and charge transfer processes. The hydrogen bonding solvents play a crucial role in these photophysical processes. Excited-state dipole moment of DDBHP and DEASH calculated by the solvatochromic method supports the polar character of the charge transfer excited state. Introduction of -NEt(2) groups to the reported salicylaldehyde azine (SAA) Schiff base results an increase in fluorescence lifetime from femtosecond to picosecond time scale for the proton transfer process.