PROTON-TRANSFER REACTION OF 4-HYDROXY-1-NAPHTHALENESULPHONATE IN METHANOL-WATER AND ETHANOL-WATER MIXTURES

The excited state proton transfer rate of 4-hydroxy-1-naphthalenesulphonate has been studied in methanol-water and ethanol-water mixtures. The lifetimes of the probe are measured at six different temperatures between 5 and 60 degrees C. The decay is single exponential in the long time regime and proton transfer rates have been found to increase with the square of the concentration of water in alcohol-water mixtures. The decay has been explained by a new model proposing a water dimer to be the effective proton acceptor in the proton transfer process.