The excited state intramolecular proton transfer （ESIPT） coupled charge transfer of baicalein has been investigated using steady-state spectroscopic experiment and quantum chemistry calculations. The absence of the absorption peak from S1 excited state both in the experi-mental and calculated absorption spectra indicates that S1 is a dark state. The dark excited state S1 results in the very weak fluorescence of solid baicalein in the experiment. The fron- tier molecular orbital and the charge difference densities of baicalein show clearly that the S1 state is a charge-transfer state whereas the S2 state is a locally excited state. The only one stationary point on the potential energy profile of excited state suggests that the ESIPT reaction of baicalein is a barrierless process.
