Since a proton-transferred geometry is usually the minimum-energy tautomer only in the excited state and relatively unstable in the ground state, molecules that have ESIPT character may show extraordinarily larger Stokes shift than common fluorescent molecules, or exhibit dual fluorescence that shorter-wavelength one comes from the original tautomer and longer-wavelength one from proton-transferred tautomer. However, there are some exceptional cases where ESIPT molecules have no dual luminescence or significantly red-shifted emission from proton-transferred tautomer, from various reasons.
Rate of ESIPT process may slow down by deuterium substitution of hydrogen that is transferred in ESIPT, because the deuteration increases only mass of the transferred significantly while do not change electrostatic potential in the molecule substantially. However the amount of rate change may lie in the range of 1~50, depending on the shape and size of potential energy surfaces of the molecule.