In this study, we report on the green fluorescence exhibited
by
nitrobenzofurazan-sulfide derivatives (NBD-S
i
, i = 1–4). The optical responses of these
studied compounds in a polar methanol solvent were simulated by the
use of time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) employing
the Becke-3-Parameter-Lee–Yang–Parr (B3LYP) functional
along with the 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The computed energy and oscillator
strength (f) results complement the experimental
results. The band gap was calculated as the difference between the
lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and the highest occupied
molecular orbital (HOMO). Additionally, the density of states (DOS)
was computed, providing a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental
properties of these materials and further corroborating the experimental
data. When the experimental data derived from ultraviolet/visible
(UV/visible) and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques and those from
simulated spectra are analyzed, the extracted values match up adequately.
In addition, the NBD-sulfide compounds exhibit a large Stokes shift
up to 85 nm in a polar methanol solvent. They are hypothesized to
represent a novel paradigm of excited-state intramolecular charge
transfer (ICT). To understand the intrinsic optical properties of
NBD-S
i
materials, an ICT was identified,
and its direction within the molecule was evaluated using the ratio
of βvect and βtotal, values extracted
from the computed nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. Moreover, the
reduced density gradient (RDG)-based noncovalent interactions (NCIs)
were employed to characterize the strength and type of NBD-Si interactions.
Furthermore, noncovalent interactions were identified and categorized
using the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) analysis. Ultimately,
the combination of Hirshfeld surface analysis and DFT calculations
was utilized to enhance the characterization and rationalization of
these NCIs.