Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Shipman, Steven

Keywords

Dimethylaminobenzonitrile, Dual Fluorescence, Physics, Aminobenzonitrile

Area of Concentration

Chemistry

Abstract

The dual florescence of dimethylaminobenzonitrile (DMABN) has been investigated since the 1960s. Despite more than 50 years of previous research, the spatial configuration of the excited state causing the dual fluorescence is still controversial. We have performed excited state calculations of DMABN in a variety of solvents of varying hydrogen-bonding affnity and polarity using implicit solvation (COSMO-PCM) at the M06-HF level of theory and we have also collected steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectra of DMABN in these solvents. Experimental spectra are broadly consistent with previous work. Computational methods for ABN gave reasonable results for both absorption and emission energies. Absorption and LE emission energies for DMABN were also reasonable, but ICT emission energies were highly inaccurate. This is inconsistent with the TICT model of DMABN's dual luminescence.

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