Enhancing Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer in 2‑(2′-Hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole and Its Nitrogen-Substituted Analogues by β‑Cyclodextrin: The Effect of Nitrogen Substitution

Excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) in nitrogen-substituted analogues of 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)benzimidazole (HPBI), 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)-3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (HPIP-b), and 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)-3H-imidazo[4,5-c]pyridine (HPIP-c) have been investigated in a β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) nanocavity and compared with that of HPBI. The stoichiometry and the binding constants of the complexes were determined by tautomer emissions. Both pK a and NMR experiments were employed to determine the orientation of the molecules inside of the β-CD cavity. Huge enhancement in the tautomer emission of HPIP-b and HPIP-c compared to that of HPBI in β-CD suggests that not only is the ESIPT favored inside of the cavity, but also, the environment reduces the nonradiative decay through the formation of an intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) state. Unlike HPBI, the tautomer emission to normal emission ratio of HPIP-b increases from 0.9 to 2.6, and that of HPIP-c increases from 4.9 to 7.4 in 15 mM β-CD. The effect of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) on complexation was also investigated for all three guest molecules. In DMSO, HPBI is present in neutral form, but the nitrogen-substituted analogues are present in both neutral and monoanionic forms. However, in DMSO upon encapsulation by β-CD, all three molecules are present in both neutral and monoanionic forms in the nanocavity. The monoanion is stabilized more inside of the β-CD cavity. The studies revealed that the ESIPT of nitrogen-substituted analogues is more susceptible to the environment than HPBI, and therefore, they are more promising probes.