Room temperature luminescence of 1,N2-etheno-2-aminopurine in poly (vinyl alcohol) films

We studied spectral properties of 1,N²-etheno-2-aminopurine after immobilization in poly (vinyl alcohol) films. The absorption spectrum of 1,N²-ε2APu consists of two peaks centered at 300 and 370 nm, and the fluorescence spectrum has maximum at about 460 nm. The fluorescence quantum efficiency is 62%. The fluorescence anisotropy reaches a value of 0.3 at longer wavelengths, while it is low at shorter wavelengths (corresponding to the second single excited state). The 1,N²-ε2APu has a relatively long fluorescence lifetime of about 16 ns and a noticeable room temperature phosphorescence with a lifetime of about 220 ms. A broad phosphorescence emission band (425–675 nm) is centered at about 530 nm and markedly overlaps with fluorescence at shorter wavelengths. Surprisingly, the phosphorescence excitation spectrum of 1,N²-ε2APu-doped poly (vinyl alcohol) film differs from the absorption and fluorescence excitation spectra. The strongest room temperature phosphorescence excitation is about 335 nm. At longer excitation wavelengths, above 450 nm, where fluorescence cannot be excited, a triplet excitation is still possible. The 1,N²-ε2APu phosphorescence anisotropy spectra confirm direct triplet state excitation. The ability to excite molecules at long wavelengths can find applications in the study of biological molecules that are unstable when excited at high energies.