Enhanced Photochromism of Diarylethene Induced by Excitation of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance on Regular Arrays of Gold Nanoparticles

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excitation on the photochromic reaction of a diarylethene derivative (DE) was studied by surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). UV and visible light irradiations transform reversibly DE between open-form (OF) and closed-form (CF) isomers, respectively. A mixture of PMMA and DE (either OF or CF isomer) was spin-coated onto gold nanorods (GNRs) arrays, designed by electron beam lithography, with two localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) at distinct wavelengths, due to their anisotropy. The photochromic reaction rates from CF to OF isomers, under LSPR excitation, were monitored from SERS spectral changes under different polarizations, on the same GNR substrate to compare the effect of LSPR field strength. It appears that the photoisomerization rate was faster when LSPR was excited with the polarization parallel to the GNR long axis. The present results highlight a potential genuine mechanism, from near field LSPR excitation, involved in the photochromic enhancement of diarylethene photochromes.     

Anisotropy of hole structures in oriented polycarbonate probed by two-dimensional angular correlation of annihilation radiation

Two-dimensional angular correlation of annihilation radiation (2D-ACAR) experiments have been performed on an uniaxially oriented polymer, bisphenol-A polycarbonate. The two-dimensional hole structures of unoriented and oriented polymers, determined from the momentum distributions, are found to be spherical and ellipsoidal, respectively. The average hole radii are determined to be 2.9 Å in the unoriented sample and between 2.3 and 3.8 Å in the oriented sample. Applications of the 2D-ACAR method to image the three-dimensional hole structures of polymeric materials are discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effect of polymerization of synthetic glycolipids on their supramolecular assemblies

Sugar-derived surfactants bearing a polymerizable acryloyl moiety on one of the branches of the double-chain hydrophobic tail were prepared. The non–ionic hydrophilic head and the biantennary hydrophobic tail were built on, respectively, an aspartic acid and a tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane core. Ultraviolet irradiation of aqueous dispersions of these surfactants above their transition phase temperature (T_c) was achieved. The morphology of self-assemblies produced in such a way were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. TEM photographs revealed that irradiation leads to the formation of unilamellar vesicles. Neither fibers nor tubules were detected in contrast to what was observed before polymerization.     

Recent developments in the synthesis and functionalization of conducting poly(thiophenes)

The mechanism of the electropolymerization of thiophene derivatives has been investigated by varying the electrosynthesis conditions and the monomer structure. The results of these analyses led to the definition of optimized electrosynthesis conditions allowing the control of the electrical and electrochemical properties of poly(thiophenes). On the basis of these results, the properties of these polymers have been modified by means of a new one-step electrosynthesis of conducting composite materials and by the direct electropolymerization of tailor-made functionalized monomers. For this purpose, the steric conditions associated to the various possibilities of covalent derivatization have been analyzed, leading to the definition of a “functionalization space”, compatible with the preservation of high conductivity and electrochemical reversibility in the resulting polymers. This concept has been applied to the synthesis of highly conducting chiral poly(thiophenes) on which an effect of enantioselective molecular recognition has been demonstrated for the first time.     

Triple Self‐Sorting in Constitutional Dynamic Networks: Parallel Generation of Imine‐Based CuI,FeII, and ZnII Complexes

Three imine‐based metal complexes, having no overlap in terms of their compositions, have been simultaneously generated from the self‐sorting of a constitutional dynamic library (CDL) containing three amines, three aldehydes, and three metal salts. The hierarchical ordering of the stability of the three metal complexes assembled and the leveraging of the antagonistic and agonistic relationships existing between the constituents within the constitutional dynamic network corresponding to the CDL were pivotal in achieving the sorting. Examination of the process by NMR spectroscopy showed that the self‐sorting of the Fe^II and Zn^II complexes depended on an interplay between the thermodynamic driving forces and a kinetic trap involved in their assembly. These results also exemplify the concept of “simplexity”—the fact that the output of a self‐assembling system may be simplified by increasing its initial compositional complexity—as the two complexes could self‐sort only in the presence of the third pair of organic components, those of the Cu^I complex.