To gain mechanistic understanding
of heptazine-based photochemistry,
we synthesized and studied 2,5,8-tris(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,3,4,6,7,9,9b-heptaazaphenalene
(TAHz), a model molecular photocatalyst chemically related to carbon
nitride. On the basis of time-resolved photoluminescence (TR-PL) spectroscopy,
we kinetically reveal a new feature that emerges in aqueous dispersions
of TAHz. Using global target analysis, we spectrally and kinetically
resolve the new emission feature to be blue shifted from the steady-state
luminescence, and observe a fast decay component exhibiting a kinetic
isotope effect (KIE) of 2.9 in H2O versus D2O, not observed in the steady-state PL. From ab initio electronic-structure
calculations, we attribute this new PL peak to the fluorescence of
an upper excited state of mixed nπ*/ππ* character.
In water, the KIE suggests the excited state is quenched by proton-coupled
electron transfer, liberating hydroxyl radicals that we detect using
terephthalic acid. Our findings are consistent with recent theoretical
predictions that heptazine-based photocatalysts can participate in
proton-coupled electron transfer with H2O.