Excited state electric dipole moment of nile blue and brilliant cresyl blue: a comparative study.

A solvatochromic study on the photophysical properties of two cationic oxazine dyes (brilliant cresyl blue and nile blue) was carried out. The electronic absorption and emission spectra of the dyes were recorded in various organic solvents with different polarity. The ground and the excited state dipole moments of the dyes were estimated from solvatochromic shift method. The solvent dependent spectral shifts in absorption and fluorescence spectra were analyzed by the Katritzky and Kamlet-Taft multi-parameter scales. This work is characterized by detailed quantitative studies on the nature and extent of solvent-solute interactions.