Disperse red 1 fluorescence emission in solution at room temperature

ORGN 77

Carlos Toro, cjtorom@hotmail.com, Arthur Thibert, Leonardo De Boni, Artem Matsunov, and Florencio E. Hernández. Department of Chemistry, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816
Disperse Red One (DR1) is one of the most studied azobenzene derivatives due to its photoisomerization ability and its applications in optical data storage and switching. The latter properties relate to the high isomerization quantum yield of this compound, which results in a high reduction of its radiative processes. Therefore, a low fluorescence quantum yield (FQY) is observed. However, these effects can be modified if DR1 undergoes a change in its electronic structure due to the surroundings. This can be achieved by changing the interactions DR1-solvent. We report the fluorescence spectra and FQY measurements of DR1 in methanol, ethylene glycol, glycerol and phenol solutions. FQYs around 10-3 were measured in the aliphatic alcohols. Detailed analysis of absorption and excitation allowed us to determine the spectral position of the different electronic transitions. Solvatochromism and isomerization mechanisms were used to explain the observed outcomes. Theoretical calculations using DFT support our experimental results.