Solvatochromic Shifts on Absorption and Fluorescence Bands of N,N-Dimethylaniline

A theoretical study of the absorption and fluorescence UV/vis spectra of N,N-dimethylaniline in different solvents has been performed, using a method combining quantum mechanics, molecular mechanics, and the mean field approximation. The transitions between the three lowest-lying states have been calculated in vacuum as well as in cyclohexane, tetrahydrofuran, and water. The apparent anomalies experimentally found in water (a blue shift in the absorption bands with respect to the trend in other solvents, and an abnormally high red shift for the fluorescence band) are well reproduced and explained in view of the electronic structure of the solute and the solvent distribution around it. Additional calculations were done with a mixture of cyclohexane and tetrahydrofuran as solvent, which displays a nonlinear solvatochromic shift. Results, although not conclusive, are consistent with experiment and provide a possible explanation for the nonlinear behavior in the solvent mixture.