Synthesis and Properties of a New Unsymmetry Diarylethene 1-{2-methyl-[5-(4-methylene-bromine)phenyl]-3-thienyl}-2-[2-methyl-5-(10-phenanthrenyl)-3-thienyl]perfluorocyclopentene

Abstract

A new photochromic diarylethene based on a phenanthrene, which is named 1-{2-methyl-[5-(4-methylene-bromine) phenyl]-3-thienyl}-2-[2-methyl-5-(10-phenanthrenyl)-3-thienyl] perfluorocyclopentene 1o, was designed and constructed successfully. We used it to accomplished recording by optical storage technology as memory medium. And its properties have been discussed systematically, including photochromic both in dichloromethane solution and in PMMA film and kinetics experiments. The result indicated that its photochromic behaviors could be modulated by UV/Vis light, changing between colorless and blue in dichloromethane solution and in PMMA film, respectively. What is more, the kinetic experiments illustrated that the cyclization/cycloreversion process of this compound was determined to be the zeroth/first reaction. In addition, the results demonstrated that the unsymmetrical diarylethene compound 1o, which we had synthesized, had attractive properties for potential application in optical storage.