Issue 16, 2023

Designing P-type bi-stable overcrowded alkene-based chiroptical photoswitches

Abstract

Overcrowded alkene based molecular motors and switches constitute a unique class of photo-responsive systems due to their intrinsic chirality near the core C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond, making them highly suitable candidates for the construction of light-switchable dynamic systems, i.e., for controlling molecular motion, modulation of material chiroptical properties and supramolecular assembly. However, the lack of general design principles, along with the challenging synthesis of these molecules, precludes full exploitation of their dynamic structures. Therefore, systematic investigations of the key parameters are crucial for the further development of these systems. Here we provide a facile alternative synthetic route, elucidate the influence of substituents on the photochemistry of overcrowded alkene-derived bistable chiroptical photoswitches, and show nearly quantitative bidirectional photoswitching. The established structure–property relationship constitutes a practical guideline for the design of these photochromes tailored to a specific application.

Graphical abstract: Designing P-type bi-stable overcrowded alkene-based chiroptical photoswitches

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
25 Oct 2022
Accepted
06 Mar 2023
First published
13 Mar 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 4328-4336

Designing P-type bi-stable overcrowded alkene-based chiroptical photoswitches

J. Sheng, W. Danowski, S. Crespi, A. Guinart, X. Chen, C. Stähler and B. L. Feringa, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 4328 DOI: 10.1039/D2SC05903G

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