Thermal cis—trans isomerization kinetics of azo compound in the assembled monolayer film: an electrochemical approach

Abstract

The thermal cis—trans isomerization of an amphiphilic azo compound in the assembled monolayer film has been investigated kinetically, using an electrochemical approach to follow the reaction process. The isomerization in the rigid monolayer film was found still to follow the first-order kinetics. Surprisingly, in spite of the rigid and highly oriented film structure, the activation enthalpy did not exhibit an essential difference from those of azo analogs in liquid phase, but was distinctly smaller than those in crystal. The observed kinetic behavior is attributed to the special isomerization environment employed.