On the Fine-Tuning of the Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer (ESIPT) Process in 2-(2'-Hydroxybenzofuran)benzazole (HBBX) Dyes.

Herein, a full investigation of the optical properties and first-principles calculations of a large series of original 2-(2'-hydroxybenzofuran)benzazole (HBBX) dyes is described. The electronic substitution on the π-conjugated core of the fluorophores and the nature of the heteroatom (O, S, N) was varied extensively to assess the necessary parameters to trigger a partial frustration of the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process, which results in the emission of both tautomers, that is, enol and keto (E* and K*). The optical properties, studied in solution and in the solid state, revealed the appearance of either an intense single K* or a dual E*/K* emission; a feature that is highly dependent on the electronic substitution (donating or accepting), the heteroelement, and the close environment. Subtle modifications of these parameters allowed the establishment of structure-property relationships that were successfully rationalized by first-principles calculations. In particular, the E*/K* emission intensity ratio was shown to be directly related to the free energies of the two emissive tautomers in the excited state.