The New Substituent Constants in the Excited States

The new substituent constants $({\sigma}^{\ast})$ are calculated from the acidity constants $(pK^{\ast})$ of phenol derivatives in the excited state ($^1L_b$). These substituent constant are applied to the Hammett equations and found good correlation with $pK^{\ast}$ of 2,6-di-tert-butyl phenol, benzamide, nitroaniline, thiophenol, azobenzene, and benzoic acid derivatives. The correlation was much better than that of ground state substituent constants such as ${\sigma},\;{\sigma}^+$, and ${\sigma}^-$. From these results, the new substituent constants $({\sigma}^{\ast})$are proposed to be used for the linear free energy relationship in the $^1({\pi},{\pi}^{\ast})$ excited states of phenyl compounds.