LAUSR

The steady-state fluorescence quenching of novel coumarin derivatives; 4-(2, 6-dibromo-4-methyl-phenoxymethyl)-benzo[h]chromen-2-one [DMB] and 6-methoxy-4-p-tolyoxymethyl-chromen-2-one [TMC] has been studied in toluene, benzene, dioxane, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran [THF] using aniline as a quencher at room temperature with a view to understanding the role of diffusion in the quenching mechanism. The probability of quenching per encounter (p) is calculated in all the solvents. Further, an activation energy for quenching (Ea) was estimated using the values of p and the literature values of activation energy for diffusion (Ed). The magnitudes of these parameters indicate that the fluorescence quenching of these molecules by aniline is not solely due to the material diffusion but there is also a contribution of an activation energy.