This paper describes the fine-tuning of the acidichromic properties of a coumarin-containing colorant 1 by incorporation of electron-donating and electronwithdrawing substituents on the coumarin moiety. Colorant 1 can undergo two distinct and reversible color changes under both strongly acidic and basic conditions, but not in the presence of gaseous ammonia. The results indicated that the bromo-substituted compound 5b changes from red to yellow when exposed to gaseous ammonia, both in solution and on polycarbonate film, suggesting that an electron-withdrawing group at the 7-position of the coumarin moiety made the enolic hydrogen on 5b more susceptible to deprotonation by a base than in the unsubstituted compound 1. ? 2007 by MDPI.
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Molecules Volume 12, Issue 7, July 2007, Pages 1316-1324