Solvatochromism of 3-[2-(aryl)benzoxazol-5-yl]alanine derivatives

The photophysical properties of N-Boc-3-[2-(9-anthryl)benzoxazol-5-yl]-l-alanine methyl ester (BoxAnt) and N-Boc-3-[2-[4-(9′-(10′-butyl)anthryl)phenyl]benzoxazol-5-yl]-l-alanine methyl ester (BoxPhAnt) were studied in a series of solvents. Their absorption spectra are less sensitive to the solvent polarity than the corresponding fluorescence spectra which show a pronounced solvatochromic effect leading to large Stokes shifts. Using an efficient solvatochromic method, based on the empirical solvent polarity parameter ETN, a large change of the dipole moment on excitation for BoxPhAnt has been found. From an analysis of the solvatochromic behaviour of the absorption and fluorescence spectra in terms of bulk solvent polarity functions, f(ɛr, n) and g(n), a larger excited-state dipole moment (about 8 D, ψ = 56) was obtained for BoxPhAnt than for BoxAnt (about 3 D, ψ = 0). Both applied methods gave similar values of the excited-state dipole moments for both compounds studied.