Easy Processable Photomechanical Thin Film Involving a Photochromic Diarylethene and a Thermoplastic Elastomer in Supramolecular Interaction.

A novel supramolecular photoactuator in the form of a thin film of centimetric size has been developed as an alternative to traditional liquid crystal elastomers (LCE) involving azobenzene (AZO) units or photochromic microcrystals. This thin film is produced through spin coating without the need for alignment or crosslinking. The photoactuator combines a photochromic dithienylethene (DTE) functionalized with ureidopyrimidinone (UPy) units, and a telechelic thermoplastic elastomer, also functionalized with UPy, allowing quadruple hydrogen bonding between the two components.

Cyclization Dynamics and Competitive Processes of Photochromic Perfluorocyclopentene Dithienylethylene in Solution.

Time-resolved absorption spectroscopy measurements were performed to study the dynamics of photochromic 1,2-Bis(2,4-dimethylthiophene-3-yl)perfluoro-cyclopentene (DMTPF) in chloroform, including antiparallel conformer ring-closure reaction and parallel conformer photophysics. All characteristic times are given, discussed and compared to a previous publication concerning the close molecule substituted with phenyl rings. (Hamdi et al.

Understanding the properties of dithienylethenes functionalized for supramolecular self-assembly: a molecular modeling study.

A dithienylethene (DTE) photochromic compound functionalized by ureidopyrimidinone (UPy) quadruple hydrogen bonding blocks was synthesized by Takeshita and coworkers [Takeshita et al., Chem. Commun.

Unraveling ultrafast dynamics of the photoswitchable bridged dithienylethenes under structural constraints.

The excited state dynamics of constrained photochromic benzodithienylethenes were addressed by considering the bridging with polyether chains (from x = 4 to 6 units) at the ortho and meta positions of the aryl group, named DTE-o and DTE-m, via time-resolved absorption spectroscopy supported with (TD)-DFT calculations. The photochromic parameters and geometrical structures of these series are discussed. A novel photocyclization pathway via a triplet state, evidenced recently (Hamdi et al.

The photochemistry of inverse dithienylethene switches understood.

The photophysical properties of a series of dithienylethenes, free or blocked in an ideal photoactive conformation by an alkyl bridge, have been investigated by stationary, ultrafast spectroscopy and state-of-the-art time-dependent density functional theory calculations. Thanks to the clear ultrafast transient signatures corroborating NMR results, we bring strong evidence that the unreactive parallel open form conformer has been efficiently removed by the chain. For the first time, the photophysics of this species, namely an internal conversion of 120 ps is highlighted.

Competitive direct vs. indirect photochromism dynamics of constrained inverse dithienylethene molecules.

State-of-the-art experimental and theoretical tools were used to investigate the gas-phase relaxation dynamics of various photoexcited photochromic dithienylethene molecules in situations where several relaxation channels are simultaneously at play. Unconstrained and constrained dynamics were addressed by considering unbridged and bridged molecules with a polyether bridge of various sizes (from 2 to 4 units). Time-resolved ultrafast ionization spectroscopy techniques were used to probe the dynamics.

Do inverse dithienylethenes behave as normal ones? A joint spectroscopic and theoretical investigation.

We investigate an inverse (I) dithienylethene, the bis(3,5-dimethyl-2-thienyl) perfluorocyclopentene, using absorption, emission and NMR spectroscopies as well as state-of-art first-principles (TDDFT) calculations. First, we find in addition to the expected antiparallel and parallel conformers, a new stable antiparallel conformer , but its energy is too high to be significantly populated at working temperature. More importantly, we demonstrate that, instead of an equal proportion of an AP and a P conformer as in normal (N) diarylethenes, the AP conformer is present in large excess.

Syntheses and fully diastereospecific photochromic reactions of thiophenophan-1-enes with chiral bridges.

Thiophenophan-1-enes with chiral polyether bridges were prepared and their diastereospecific photochromic reactions were studied. The coupling reaction of substituted dithienylethenes and various chiral synthons afforded thiophenophan-1-enes, namely, bridged dithienylethenes, as single enantiomers without optical resolution, thus indicating that these reactions occurred diastereoselectively. Upon UV irradiation, each optically active thiophenophan-1-ene isomerized to the corresponding enantiomer of the closed form and returned to the initial enantiomer of the open form upon visible irradiation.

Bridged photochromic diarylethenes investigated by ultrafast absorption spectroscopy: evidence for two distinct photocyclization pathways.

Two photochromic diarylethenes blocked by alkyl bridges in an ideal conformation for photocyclization are studied by stationary and femtosecond transient spectroscopy in order to depict the photocyclization processes: the bistable 1,2-dicyano[2.n]metacyclophan-1-ene with n = 2, abbreviated as [2.2], and its non-bistable analogue with n = 4, abbreviated as [2.

Fully diastereospecific photochromic reaction of a thiophenophan-1-ene.

Novel thiophenophan-1-enes, which are composed of a dithienylethene unit and a chiral bridge, were synthesized and obtained as optically-active single diastereomers. Upon UV irradiation, the open-form isomers afforded single diastereomers of the closed form in 100% diastereo-excess, indicating that this system undergoes a fully diastereospecific photochromic reaction.

Electrochemically triggered conversion between metacyclophan-1-ene and dihydropyrene molecular switching systems.

The electrochemical oxidation of either open or closed metacyclophanene isomers, which is a positive-photochromic system due to open isomers being more stable than closed ones, quantitatively yields a stable fluorescent dihydropyrene intermediate, a well-known negative T-photochromic system where the closed form is more stable than the open one. This is one of the first examples in which two different molecular switching systems can be electrochemically triggered.

Revision of the structure assigned to the antibiotic BU-4664L from Micromonopora.

The structure assigned to the antitumor antibiotic BU-4664L from Micromonospora sp. was revised to 5,10-dihydro-4,6,8-trihydroxy-10-(3,7,11-trimethyl-trans-2,trans-6,10-dodecatrienyl)-11H-dibenzo[b,e] [1,4]-diazepin-11-one based on the NMR analysis.