Dynamics of proton transfer in 7-azaindole

Abstract

The title compound has been widely investigated as a paradigm for photoinduced proton translocation, a mechanism proposed for photomutagenesis in biological systems. The time dependence of proton transfer in 7-azaindole dimers has been measured using femtosecond fluorescence gating and transient absorption techniques. The excited state reaction is found to occur with a time constant of 1.4 and 4.0 ps for the protonated and deuterated compound, respectively. The transient absorption measurements show the formation of the ground state tautomer on the timescale of the laser pulse, suggesting competing pathways leading to formation of the ground state tautomer.