Excited-State Double Proton Transfer of 1, 8-Dihydroxy-2-Naphthaldehyde: a MS-CASPT2//CASSCF Study

Excited-state double proton transfer (ESDPT) is a controversial issue which has long been plagued with theoretical and experimental communities. Herein, we took 1, 8-dihydroxy-2-naphthaldehyde (DHNA) as a prototype and used combined complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and multi-state complete active-space second-order perturbation (MS-CASPT2) methods to investigate ESDPT and excited-state deactivation pathways of DHNA. Three different tautomer minima of S1-ENOL, S1-KETO-1, and S1-KETO-2 and two crucial conical intersections of S1S0-KETO-1 and S1S0-KETO-2 in and between the S₀ and S₁ states were obtained. S1-KETO-1 and S1-KETO-2 should take responsibility for experimentally observing dual-emission bands. In addition, two-dimensional potential energy surfaces (2D-PESs) and linear interpolated internal coordinate paths connecting relevant structures were calculated at the MS-CASPT2//CASSCF level and confirmed a stepwise ESDPT mechanism. Specifically, the first proton transfer from S1-ENOL to S1-KETO-1 is barrierless, whereas the second one from S1-KETO-1 to S1-KETO-2 demands a barrier of ca. 6.0 kcal/mol. The linear interpolated internal coordinate path connecting S1-KETO-1 (S1-KETO-2) and S1S0-KETO-1 (S1S0-KETO-2) is uphill with a barrier of ca. 12.0 kcal/mol, which will trap DHNA in the S₁ state while therefore enabling dual-emission bands. On the other hand, the S₁/S₀ conical intersections would also prompt the S₁ system to decay to the S₀ state, which could be to certain extent suppressed by locking the rotation of the C5-C8-C9-O10 dihedral angle. These mechanistic insights are not only helpful for understanding ESDPT but also useful for designing novel molecular materials with excellent photoluminescent performances.