Spectroscopic Properties of Quercetin in AOT Reverse Micelles

• Published in: Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 828 - 832
• Main Authors: Park, Hyoung-Ryun, Im, Seo-Eun, Seo, Jung-Ja, Bark, Ki-Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Fluorescence quantum yield; Quercetin; Intramolecular proton transfer; Fluorescence lifetime; AOT reverse micelle
• ISSN: 0253-2964; 1229-5949

The spectroscopic properties of quercetin (QCT) were studied in the AOT reverse micelle by fluorescence spectroscopy. Because the molecular structure of QCT is completely planar, excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) occurs between the -OH at C(5) and carbonyl oxygen via intramolecular hydrogen bonding. This ESIPT happens at the $S_1$ state but not at the $S_2$ state. Because QCT is a good donor-acceptor-conjugated molecule at the excited state, this molecule can emit strong fluorescence but shows no $S_1{\rightarrow}S_o$ emission due to this ESIPT. Since the $S_2{\rightarrow}S_1$ internal conversion was very slow due to the small Franck-Condon factors, $S_2{\rightarrow}S_o$ fluorescence emission was observed. All of the experimental results indicated that the QCT resided at the bound water interface and that the position of solute did not change significantly in the micelle at various water concentrations.