| Abstract: | Reversible photocolor developments of viologens embedded in poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) films, a typical polar aprotic solid matrix, were found to be affected by the kinds of viologen cation as well as the paired anion. The color developments in the corresponding low-molecular-weight solvents are connected closely to the solubility of viologens in these solvents; viologens are highly sensitive in the polar aprotic solvents in which they have poor solubilities, such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and hexamethyl phosphoric triamide. These facts confirm the color-development mechanism consistings of electron transfer to the photoexcited viologen cation from the paired anion in polar aprotic solid matrices such as poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone). |
