A photo-responsive hydrogelator having gluconamides at its peripheral branches.

A newly designed anthracene derivative having gluconamides at its peripheral branches formed a photo-responsive hydrogel. SEM observation of the xerogel showed a network structure consisting of fibrils. Upon photoirradiation (lambda >300 nm) of the hydrogel, regioselective photodimerization of the anthracene moiety occurred to give head-to-tail photodimers and the physical state changed from the gel to the sol.

Photoinduced charge separation and charge recombination of fullerene bearing dendritic poly(amidoamine) with carboxylates at the terminal in aqueous media.

Photoinduced charge separation of fullerodendrimers with carboxylates at terminal sites (C60 approximately COO-) has been found in aqueous media. Time-resolved transient absorption and fluorescence measurements of the fullerodendrimers demonstrated that charge separation takes place from the terminal carboxylate anion to the central excited singlet state of C60, generating C60*- approximately COO* with high quantum efficiency in aqueous solution. In the presence of viologen dication and a sacrificial donor, the persistent viologen radical cation was generated.