Enhancing excited state intramolecular proton transfer in 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole and its nitrogen-substituted analogues by β-cyclodextrin: the effect of nitrogen substitution.

Excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) in nitrogen-substituted analogues of 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole (HPBI), 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)-3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (HPIP-b), and 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)-3H-imidazo[4,5-c]pyridine (HPIP-c) have been investigated in a β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) nanocavity and compared with that of HPBI. The stoichiometry and the binding constants of the complexes were determined by tautomer emissions. Both pKa and NMR experiments were employed to determine the orientation of the molecules inside of the β-CD cavity. Huge enhancement in the tautomer emission of HPIP-b and HPIP-c compared to that of HPBI in β-CD suggests that not only is the ESIPT favored inside of the cavity, but also, the environment reduces the nonradiative decay through the formation of an intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) state. Unlike HPBI, the tautomer emission to normal emission ratio of HPIP-b increases from 0.9 to 2.6, and that of HPIP-c increases from 4.9 to 7.4 in 15 mM β-CD. The effect of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) on complexation was also investigated for all three guest molecules. In DMSO, HPBI is present in neutral form, but the nitrogen-substituted analogues are present in both neutral and monoanionic forms. However, in DMSO upon encapsulation by β-CD, all three molecules are present in both neutral and monoanionic forms in the nanocavity. The monoanion is stabilized more inside of the β-CD cavity. The studies revealed that the ESIPT of nitrogen-substituted analogues is more susceptible to the environment than HPBI, and therefore, they are more promising probes.