Issue 9, 2019

Solution and solid state photochromism in a family of shape persistent azobenzene tetramers functionalized with alkyloxy substituents

Abstract

Shape-persistent azobenzene tetramers functionalized at the periphery with alkyloxy substituents of different lengths have been synthesized and their photochemical behaviour has been investigated. Efficient EZ photoisomerization of the azobenzene units takes place both in solution and in the solid state, a highly desirable yet uncommon property for azobenzene-type photochromic compounds. The solid state EZ photoisomerization is accompanied by an isothermal crystal–amorphous phase transformation; successively, anisotropic crystals can be grown upon promoting the ZE isomerization by thermal annealing of the irradiated samples. These results validate the strategy of engineering multiphotochromic architectures with a rigid star-shaped geometry to preserve the solution-based photoreactivity also in the solid state. The observed unexpected photoinduced alignment makes these materials potentially attractive for the development of photo-patternable and photo-responsive surfaces.

Graphical abstract: Solution and solid state photochromism in a family of shape persistent azobenzene tetramers functionalized with alkyloxy substituents

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Jan 2019
Accepted
25 Mrz 2019
First published
10 Apr 2019

Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2019,18, 2281-2286

Solution and solid state photochromism in a family of shape persistent azobenzene tetramers functionalized with alkyloxy substituents

J. Vialetto, J. Groppi, M. La Rosa, S. Silvi, A. Credi and M. Baroncini, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2019, 18, 2281 DOI: 10.1039/C9PP00022D

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