Photochromism and Optical Recording of a Novel Diarylethene Bearing Phenanthrene Unit

Abstract

Photochromic molecules are part of a large class of materials in which light stimulus not only induces a color variation but also affects other physicochemical properties. In the paper, an asymmetrical photochromic diarylethene, 1-(2,4-dimethyl-3-thiazole)-2-[2-methyl-5-(10-phenanthrenyl)-3-thienyPerfluorocyclopentene was synthesized and its photochromic and fluorescent properties were systematically investigated. The compound exhibited remarkable photochromic, changing from colorless to OrangeRed after irradiation with UV light both in solution and in PMMA film. In addition, its fluorescence property was also discussed. When irradiation with UV light, the fluorescence intensity declined remarkably. The results showed that the diarylethene exhibited a relatively strong fluorescence switch along with the photochromism from open-ring isomer to closed-ring isomer. Using this diarylethene 1a as optical storage was performed successfully.