Configurational relaxation of "Van Der Waals complexes" in solution.

Novel measurements on the microscopic solvation dynamics of 3-amino-N-methylphthalimide (3ANMP) in nonpolar decalin (decahydronaphthalene) solutions with small concentrations of ethanol and other polar additives have been made, using the time-dependent fluorescence Stokes shift (TDFSS) technique. It is found that the experimentally measured TDFSS slightly differs from that predicted by the theory of the generalized Smoluchowski-Vlasov equation (SVE). The essentially slower character of the TDFSS in binary solutions than given by the SVE approach may be explained by the control of the solvation behavior by the large-wavevector processes involving nearest-neighbor molecules.