Time-resolved
fluorescence emission and resonance-enhanced second harmonic generation
(SHG) spectra were collected from 4-dimethylaminobenzonitrile (DMABN)
adsorbed to the aqueous–silica interface in order to identify
how strongly associating solvent–substrate interactions change
DMABN’s photoisomerization properties. In bulk polar solution,
DMABN forms an excited twisted intramolecular charge-transfer (TICT)
state that emits with a distinctive, solvatochromic fluorescent signature.
At the silica–aqueous interface, the TICT fluorescence disappears,
similar to DMABN’s behavior in nonpolar environments. SHG spectra
confirm that the interface is, in fact, polar, and DMABN’s
unusual fluorescence emission acquired from the interface is attributed
to strong hydrogen bonding associations between the water molecules
and the silica surface that prevent adsorbate isomerization. Additionally,
SHG spectra show a strong resonance at long wavelengths that is unexpected
based on bulk absorbance spectra and selection rules for nonlinear
hyperpolarizabilities. Using both Zerner’s INDO semiempirical
and TD-DFT calculations, this spectroscopic behavior is attributed
to a combination of strong electric fields present at the aqueous–silica
interface and surface-induced changes to DMABN’s ground-state
molecular structure.