Excited-state proton transfer of weak photoacids adsorbed on biomaterials: 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonate on chitin and cellulose.

Time-resolved and steady-state florescence measurements were used to study the photoprotolytic process of an adsorbed photoacid on cellulose and chitin. For that purpose we used the 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonate (HPTS) photoacid which transfers a proton to water with a time constant of 100 ps, but is incapable of doing so in methanol or ethanol. We found that both biopolymers accept a proton from the electronically excited acidic ROH form of HPTS. The excited-state proton-transfer (ESPT) rate of HPTS adsorbed on chitin is greater than that on cellulose by a factor of 5. The ESPT on chitin also occurs in the presence of methanol or ethanol, but at a slower rate. The transferred protons can recombine efficiently with the conjugate excited base, the RO(-) form of HPTS.