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January 22, 2026The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters1 citations

A Molecular Router for Excited-State Energy: Revealing the Solvent-Controlled Competition between Charge and Proton Transfer

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JGJunyi GongZZZheng ZhaoBLBo Li

Key Points

  • This research investigates how solvent polarity affects the competition between charge transfer and proton transfer in excited states.
  • Utilized azine-based compounds to examine the emission properties under varying solvent polarities.
  • Monitored solvatochromic behavior to assess the switch between dual and single emission states.
  • Analyzed the energy of conical intersections to understand pathways for ICT and ESIPT.
  • Demonstrated the switching behavior between dual and single emission based on solvent polarity.
  • Showed that higher solvent polarity blocks the proton transfer pathway, favoring charge transfer instead.
  • Revealed a new strategy for controlling excited-state dynamics through solvent interactions.

Abstract

The integration of ICT and ESIPT typically suffers from a "1 + 1 ≠ 2" problem. Here, we report an azine-based compound exhibiting a unique solvatochromic switch between dual and single emission. This phenomenon is attributed to a solvent-gated competition: ICT on the S1 state and ESIPT on the S2 state. Increasing solvent polarity kinetically blocks the S2-ESIPT pathway by elevating the energy of the S1/S2 conical intersection, routing the emission exclusively to the S1-ICT channel. This finding reveals a new strategy for controlling excited-state dynamics.

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Cite This Study

Gong et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6971bdad642b1836717e2587https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.5c03538
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