Short-lived and Nonphosphorescent Triplet state of Mexoryl SX, a UV-A Sunscreen

Mexoryl SX (terephthalylidene-3,3′-dicamphor-10,10′-disulfonic acid, Ecamsule) is a water-soluble UV-A absorber. The near-IR phosphorescence spectrum of singlet oxygen generated by photosensitization with Mexoryl SX was not observed in air-saturated water. On the other hand, the time-resolved near-IR phosphorescence spectrum was observed in oxygen-saturated phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). The quantum yield of the singlet oxygen generation (ΦΔ) was determined to be 0.0021 ± 0.0005. The ability of Mexoryl SX as a photosensitizer is quite low. The question arises as to the quite low ΦΔ value. No phosphorescence was detectable from Mexoryl SX in ethanol at 77 K. We elucidated the nature of the lowest excited triplet (T1) state of Mexoryl SX using a time-resolved EPR technique, because this technique is powerful for the study of short-lived and nonphosphorescent T1 molecules. The strong time-resolved EPR signals were observed. This fact shows that a considerable proportion of the lowest excited singlet (S1) state molecules undergoes intersystem crossing (ISC) to the T1 state and the deactivation process of the T1 state is mainly radiationless. The observed zero-filed splitting parameters, T1 lifetime, and S1 → T1 ISC anisotropy suggest that the T1 state can be regarded as a 3nπ*–3ππ* mixing state in character and the two unpaired electrons in the T1 state do not localize on (4-methylbenzylidene)camphor, a closely related component. Although the shorter T1 lifetime (47 ns) prevents T1 state quenching by ground-state oxygen, the 3nπ* character may contribute something to the low ΦΔ value.