Syntheses and properties of new photochromic diarylethene derivatives having a pyrazole unit

New photochromic diarylethenes 1a, 2a and 3a bearing a pyrazole unit have been synthesized. Their properties, including photochromic reactivity, fluorescence and electrochemical properties were investigated. These compounds showed good photochromic properties, high cycloreversion quantum yield and relatively strong fluorescence. The cycloreversion quantum yields of 1a, 2a and 3a are 0.46, 0.53 and 0.57, respectively, which are larger than those of their cyclization quantum yields (0.43, 0.45 and 0.47, respectively). The oxidations of diarylethenes 1a, 2a and 3a were initiated at 0.73, 1.11 and 0.79 V, respectively. Moreover, the position of the methoxyl substituent had remarkable impacts on the above optical and electrochemical properties.     

Photochromism of diarylethene derivatives having an indene unit

Photochromic indene derivatives, 1-(2-methyl-1-inden-3-yl)-2-(2-methyl-1-benzothien-3-yl)perfluorocyclopentene and 1-(2-methyl-1-inden-3-yl)-2-(2-methyl-1-benzofuran-3-yl)perfluorocyclopentene, were synthesized and their photochromic performance was examined.     

Photochromic properties of diarylethene derivatives having chryso[b]thiophene rings

Diarylethene derivatives having one or two chryso[b]thiophene ring(s) have been synthesized. In solution the derivatives underwent photochromism and the derivative with one chryso[b]thiophene ring exhibited photochromism even in the single crystalline phase. The color of the UV irradiated single crystal changed from blue to green by rotation the sample under polarized light.     

Invisible photochromism of diarylethene derivatives

Diarylethene derivatives with oxidized thiophene rings shift their absorption band to a shorter wavelength in the UV region upon photocyclization; no color change was observed during the photochromic reaction, and the invisible photochromism is advantageous for devices used under room light.     

Efficient synthesis and photochromic properties of 2,3-position hybrid diarylethene derivatives

An efficient synthetic method was proposed to synthesize some 2,3-position hybrid diarylethene derivatives. In these compounds, one of thiophene rings was attached to the ethylene moiety at 2-position, the other at 3-position. These asymmetric diarylethenes are sensitive at wavelengths in the region of 400 and 500 nm. They can undergo thermally irreversible and fatigue-resistant photochromic reactions in solution, some of them even in the solid state. Substituent effects on their photochromism were examined.     

Synthesis of silsesquioxanes having photochromic diarylethene pendant groups

Silsesquioxanes having 1-(2-methylbenzo[b]thien-3-yl)-2-[5-(4-butylphenyl)-2,4-dimethylthien-3-yl]perfluorocyclopentenes as the pendant groups were synthesized. Photochemical conversion from the open-ring to the closed-ring form of diarylethenes chemically bonded to polymers was by 15–25% lower than the conversion of the chromophores dispersed in the same matrix. No appreciable difference in the photoconversion of the fixed chromophores was observed below and above the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the polymer films.     

Photochromism of a diarylethene having an azulene ring

Diarylethene derivatives incorporating an azulene ring at the ethene moiety were synthesized. One derivative having thiazole rings showed the expected coloration reaction by excitation at 313 nm (to a higher singlet state) but not when excited at 635 nm (S(0) to S(1) excitation). The system demonstrates that the cyclization reaction can be controlled by selective excitation at different wavelengths of the absorption spectrum. On the other hand, another derivative having thiophene rings did not show any photochromism. The results clearly show the importance of the coplanarity of the system for the photoisomerization.     

二芳基乙烯类酸致变色材料的光机械效应

本文合成了氟代萘乙烯基苯并唑BO1N4F和氟代萘乙烯基苯并噻唑BT1N4F,二者在紫外光照下可发生拓扑[2+2]环加成反应,生成的主产物为β-型二聚体.由于前者的光化学反应效率高于后者,因此,BO1N4F的光二聚反应导致晶体内部产生较大的张力.当累积在棒状晶体中的张力快速释放时,晶体发生爆裂,产生的碎片跳离原位置;当累积在针状晶体中的张力缓慢释放时,晶体发生显著的背光弯曲.此外,光二聚反应将平面形二芳基乙烯分子转化为蝴蝶形环丁烷衍生物,共轭分子的去平面化导致基于二聚体D-BO1N4F的薄膜对三氟乙酸蒸气的检测限低于薄膜BO1N4F.可见,光诱导[2+2]环加成反应不仅能改善二芳基乙烯衍生物在薄膜中的荧光传感性能,而且是分子晶体产生光机械效应的驱动力.     

Photochromism of diarylethene derivatives having cyclohexyl and cyclohexenyl groups in single-component crystals and a two-component mixed crystal

Diarylethene derivatives 1a having two cyclohexyl groups and 2a having a cyclohexyl and a cyclohexenyl group formed a mixed crystal composed of almost equal amounts of the two components, and underwent photochromism in the mixed crystal as well as in the single-component crystals.     

The effects of phenyl-bridged glucosyltriazolyl groups on the properties of water-soluble diarylethene derivatives

Three water-soluble diarylethenes with glycosyltriazolyl groups and variable phenyl units have been synthesized, and their properties, such as water solubility, photochromism, and fluorescence have been discussed. Upon alternating irradiation with UV and visible light, each of the diarylethenes exhibited favorable photochromism and functioned as fluorescent switches in water. Experimental results showed that their water solubility as well as absorption features, cyclization quantum yields, photoconversion ratios, thermal stability, and fatigue resistance exhibited a strong correlation with the number of phenyl-bridged glucosyltriazolyl groups in diarylethene systems. The absorption maximum, thermal stability, and fatigue resistance were significantly improved, but the water solubility and fluorescent modulation efficiency were suppressed with the increase of the number of phenyl-bridged glucosyltriazolyl groups for these diarylethene derivatives.     

Two-photon photochromism of diarylethene dimer derivatives.

Photochromic diarylethene dimer derivatives with large two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-sections have been designed and synthesized. The derivatives have a D-pi-D structure in which indole rings are used as donor units (D) and 1,4-bis(ethynyl)benzene or 1,4-bis(ethenyl)benzene as a pi-conjugated chain unit (pi). Compound 5 a, which has oxazole rings as one of the aryl groups, showed a TPA cross-section of 23 GM at 820 nm and exhibited efficient two-photon photochromic reactivity.     

Synthesis and the effect of alkyl chain length on optoelectronic properties of diarylethene derivatives

Photochromic symmetrical diarylethene derivatives 1a-6a bearing different long alkyl chains at 2-position of thiophene rings have been synthesized and their structures have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The effect of alkyl chain length on their optoelectronic properties, such as photochromism in solution as well as in the crystalline phase and electrochemical performance was investigated in detail. These diarylethenes have showed good photochromic behavior both in solution and in the single crystalline phase. Introduction of the long alkyl chains at 2-position of bis(5-formyl-3-thienyl)perfluorocyclopentene increased the absorption coefficients of both open- and closed-ring isomers and induced bathochromic shifts of the maximal wavelength absorption of the closed-ring isomers. The long alkyl chains can also decrease the cyclization/cycloreversion quantum yields and the oxidation potentials. The cyclic voltammetry indicated that the band gap of these diarylethene derivatives was significantly affected by the alkyl chain length.     

Synthesis and the effect of alkyl chain length on photochromic properties of diarylethene derivatives

A new class of photochromic diarylethenes bearing pyrrole and thiophene units with different length of alkyl chains at 2-position of thiophene rings have been synthesized. Their characteristics, including photochromism and fatigue resistance were investigated systematically, and each diarylethene derivative showed good photochromic properties whether in solution or in PMMA films. The alkyl group moiety was connected directly to the central cyclopentene ring as a heteroaryl unit and availably participated in photoisomerization reaction. And some properties, for example, the conversion ratio in the photostationary state(PSS) and the absorption coefficient of the ring-closed isomers in acetonitrile were significantly affected by the alkyl chain length. The results revealed that substituents of alkyl chain played an important role in the photoisomerization process of diarylethenes.     

Modulation of the absorption, fluorescence, and liquid-crystal properties of functionalised diarylethene derivatives

Systematic variation of the molecular symmetry in a photochromic system based on a 1,2-bis(2-methylbenzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene group, connected by decyl spacers to two cyanobiphenyl groups as mesogens, allows for a systematic investigation of the correlations between molecular shape and symmetry, electronic effects, photochromic conversion and liquid-crystalline properties.     

Switching mechanism of photochromic diarylethene derivatives molecular junctions

The electronic transport properties and switching mechanism of single photochromic diarylethene derivatives sandwiched between two gold surfaces with closed and open configurations are investigated by a fully self-consistent nonequilibrium Green's function method combined with density functional theory. The calculated transmission spectra of two configurations are strikingly distinctive. The open form lacks any significant transmission peak within a wide energy window, while the closed structure has two significant transmission peaks on both sides of the Fermi level. The electronic transport properties of the molecular junction with closed structure under a small bias voltage are mainly determined by the tail of the transmission peak contributed unusually by the perturbed lowest perturbed unoccupied molecular orbital. The calculated on-off ratio of currents between the closed and open configurations is about two orders of magnitude, which reproduces the essential features of the experimental measured results. Moreover, we find that the switching behavior within a wide bias voltage window is extremely robust to both substituting F or S for H or O and varying end anchoring atoms from S to Se and Te.     

Chemical control of the photochromic reactivity of diarylethene derivatives

Photochemically inactive diarylethene derivatives having a N-(O-hydroxyphenyl) group underwent photochromic reaction when they were esterified by the addition of acetic anhydride.     

Ring closure reaction dynamics of diarylethene derivatives in solution

Photochromic ring closure reaction dynamics of 1,2-bis(2-methylbenzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)hexafluoro cyclopentene and its derivatives in solution has been studied by femtosecond time-resolved fluorescence. Time-resolved spontaneous fluorescence of the open isomer reveals a fast component of around 1 ps and a slow component on the order of 100 ps. Fluorescence time profiles, reaction quantum yields, and relative populations of the parallel (C(s) symmetry) and antiparallel (C(2) symmetry) conformations indicate that both time components are attributable mostly to the C(2) conformer that undergoes the ring closure reaction. The fast component is assigned to the direct ring closure reaction, and the slow component is assigned to the reaction through conformation change. Time constants of the slow component for the derivatives are inversely proportional to the reaction quantum yields, suggesting that the rate of the conformational dynamics is comparable to the rate of other population relaxation processes. The relative amplitude and exact time constant of the fast component depend on the detection wavelength displaying a higher relative amplitude with shorter time constant at longer wavelengths. The results allow us to propose a conformational inhomogeneity model, in which a broad distribution of conformations of the open isomers in the ground state is projected into two minima in the excited electronic potential surface to lead to the slow and the fast reaction pathways.     

Phosphite dendrimers and their organometallic derivatives

The synthesis of new classes of dendrimers, boranophosphate triesters and phosphite-based dendrimers has been accomplished. The latter compounds have been successfully transformed into their palladium(II) and rhodium(I) complexes, possessing metal derivatives attached to the branching points within the dendrimer.     

Thirty years of organometallic aryldiazenido arylazo derivatives

The aryldiazenido ligands provide the fourth member of the isoelectronic series CO, NO⁺, RNC, RN₂⁺ of ligands for transition metal complexes. The first aryldiazenido metal complex was reported in 1964 when p-CH₃OC₆H₄N₂Mo(CO)₂C₅H₅ was prepared by the reaction of NaMo(CO)₃C₅H₅ with p-CH₃OC₆H₄N₂⁺BF₄⁻. This review surveys the development of organometallic aryldiazenido chemistry since that time. Such organometallic aryldiazenido derivatives, including RN₂M(CO)₂C₅H₅, RN₂M(CO)₂(Pz₃BH) (M = Cr, Mo, W), [(η⁶-Me₆C₆)Cr(CO)₂N₂Ar]⁺, [(MeC₁₅H₄)M′(CO)₂N₂Ar]⁺ M′ = Mn, Re), [trans-PhN₂Fe(CO)₂(PPh₃)₂]⁺, and PhN₂M′(CO)₂(PPh₃)₂(PPh₃)₂ can be obtained by reactions of arenediazonium salts with suitably chosen transition metal nucleophiles. Analogous methods cannot be used to prepare alkyldiazenido transition metal complexes because of the instability of alkyldiazonium salts. However, the alkyldiazenido derivatives RCH₂N₂M(CO)₂C₅H₅ (R = H or Me₃Si) can be obtained from HM(CO)₃C₅H₅ and the corresponding diazoalkanes. Important aspects of the chemical reactivity of RN₂M(CO)₂Q derivatives (Q = C₅H₅, Pz₃BH) include CO substitution reactions, coordination of the second nitrogen in the RN₂ ligand to give heterobimetallic complexes such as C₅H₅Mo(CO)₂(μ-NNC₆H₄Me)(CO)₂C₅H₅, oxidative addition rections with X₂ X = Cl, Br, I), SnX₄, RSSR, and CINO, and reactions with further RN₂⁺ to give bis(aryldiazenido) derivatives (RN₂)₂MQL⁺ (L = CO, X⁻, etc.). Dearylation of an aryldiazenido ligand to a dinitrogen ligand can be effected by reaction of [(MeC₅H₄)M′(CO)₂N₂Ar]⁺ with certain nucleophiles to give (MeC₅H₄)M′(CO)₂N₂.