Photophysical studies on the interaction of formamide and alkyl substituted amides with photoinduced electron transfer (PET) based acridinedione dyes in water.

Interaction of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) based acridinedione dye (ADR 1) with amides like formamide, acetamide and dimethylformamide (DMF) were investigated by fluorescence spectral techniques. A fluorescence enhancement accompanied with a blue shift in the emission maximum was observed on the addition of amides to ADR 1 dye, which possess C(6)H(4)(p-OCH(3)) in the 9th position of the basic acridinedione ring. The extent of fluorescence enhancement and the blue shift in the emission maximum of ADR 1 dye is of the order of DMF > acetamide > formamide. DMF, which is more hydrophobic and less polar, results in a higher extent of fluorescence enhancement and a larger shift in the emission maximum towards the blue region. On the addition of amides, the ADR 1 dye prefers to orient towards a more hydrophobic phase surrounded by more number of amide molecules. The fluorescence enhancement of ADR 1 dye is attributed to the suppression of PET process occurring through space. The influence of the hydrophobic nature and the polarity of the amides on the excited state properties of acridinedione dyes are elucidated by steady-state and time resolved fluorescence measurements.