Synthesis and fluorescence study of phenylcoumarin/cyanophenylbenzocoumarin-3-carboxylates

The absorption and fluorescence spectra of phenylcoumarin and cyanophenylbenzocoumarin-3-carboxylates 6a-f and 9a-e have been investigated in chloroform, acetonitrile and ethanol. The substituting groups with varying electron donating ability such as N,N-diethyl amine and morpholine at 7-position, in phenylcoumarin-3-carboxylate 6a-f exhibits fluorescence at a longer wavelength i.e. 420-460 nm in chloroform and 460-504 nm in acetonitrile. However the morpholine derivatives 6f-j did not show fluorescence in chloroform. In another series of cyanophenylbenzocoumarin-3-carboxylates 9a-e, the compound 9c exhibits fluorescence at 546 nm in ethanol and 256 nm in acetonitrile, and lower emission wavelength i.e. 356 nm in chloroform. Further the compounds 6e , 9b, 9d and 9e exhibited high quantum yield in ethanol i.e., Φ F = 0.79, 0.70, 0.80 and 0.74 respectively compare to Rhodamine B ( Φ F = 0.24) in ethanol.