Work

Unraveling the Photoswitching Mechanism in Donor–Acceptor Stenhouse Adducts

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Molecular photoswitches have opened up a myriad of opportunities in applications ranging from responsive materials and control of biological function to molecular logics. Here, we show that the photoswitching mechanism of donor-acceptor Stenhouse adducts (DASA), a recently reported class of photoswitches, proceeds by photoinduced Z-E isomerization, followed by a thermal, conrotatory 4π-electrocyclization. The photogenerated intermediate is manifested by a bathochromically shifted band in the visible absorption spectrum of the DASA. The identification of the role of this intermediate reveals a key step in the photoswitching mechanism that is essential to the rational design of switching properties via structural modification.

Source: Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b01722

Authors: Michael M. Lerch, Sander J. Wezenberg, Wiktor Szymanski, Ben L. Feringa

Institutions: University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen

Language: English

Topic: Photochromic and Fluorescence Chemistry

Subfield: Materials Chemistry

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green