The triplet excited state of the biocative compound thiabendazole. Characterization and suitability as reporter for cyclodextrin complexation

Fluorescence spectroscopy, laser flash photolysis (LPF), and density functional theory calculations have been performed to characterize the photobehavior of thiabendazole (1). Direct LFP of 1 results in the generation of a transient absorbing at λmax = 570 nm identified as the triplet excited state (31∗). The intersystem crossing quantum yield is 0.91, and the triplet energy is 288 kJ mol−1. The singlet–triplet energy gap is 84 kJ mol−1.

The behavior of thiabendazole within CDs results in a marked enhancement of the triplet lifetime, this change is attributed to the mobility restrictions of included 1 imposed by the cyclodextrin cavities.