Unravelling the ultrafast dynamics of a N-BODIPY compound

Although the photophysics of BODIPY compounds has been widely investigated in the last few years, their analogues N-BODIPY, with nitrogen substitution at the boron center, did not receive comparable attention. In this work we report the synthesis and photochemical characterization of a substituted N-BODIPY compound, by means of a combined theoretical and spectroscopic approach. Compared to a standard BODIPY, the compound under investigation presents a lower fluorescence quantum yield (QY) in the visible region. The excited state relaxation dynamics of the dye was studied in different solvents, showing further fluorescence quenching in polar solvents, and excited state decay rates strongly dependent on the environment polarity. The role of the pendant moieties and the involvement of charge transfer states in the excited state dynamics was experimentally addressed by transient absorption spectroscopy, and further analyzed with TD-DFT calculations, which allowed precise assignment of the transient signals to the correspondent electronic configuration. The complete picture of the N-BODIPY behavior shows the presence of both charge transfer and localized states, influencing the observed photophysics to different amounts, depending on the excitation conditions and the surrounding environment.

Automated summary

In this study, the synthesis and photochemical characterization of a substituted N-BODIPY compound were investigated. Compared to a standard BODIPY, the compound showed a lower fluorescence quantum yield in the visible region. The excited state relaxation dynamics of the dye were studied in different solvents, revealing fluorescence quenching in polar solvents and environment polarity-dependent excited state decay rates. Transient absorption spectroscopy and TD-DFT calculations were used to analyze the involvement of charge transfer states and assign transient signals to specific electronic configurations. The complete picture of N-BODIPY behavior showed the presence of both charge transfer and localized states, influencing photophysics depending on excitation conditions and surrounding environment.