Visible light activated energy storage in solid-state Azo-BF2 switches

Qianfeng Qiu; Qingkai Qi; Junichi Usuba; Karina Lee; Ivan Aprahamian; Grace G. D. Han

doi:10.1039/D3SC03465H

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Visible light activated energy storage in solid-state Azo-BF₂ switches†

Qianfeng Qiu,‡^a Qingkai Qi,‡^b Junichi Usuba,^a Karina Lee,^a Ivan Aprahamian

*^b and Grace G. D. Han

*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
E-mail: gracehan@brandeis.edu

^b Department of Chemistry, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
E-mail: ivan.aprahamian@dartmouth.edu

Abstract

We present here a group of Azo-BF₂ photoswitches that store and release energy in response to visible light irradiation. Unmodified Azo-BF₂ switches have a planar structure with a large π-conjugation system, which hinders E–Z isomerization when in a compacted state. To address this challenge, we modified the switches with one or two aliphatic groups, which altered the intermolecular interactions and arrangement of the photochromes in the solid state. The derivative with two substituents exhibited a non-planar configuration that provided particularly large conformational freedom, allowing for efficient isomerization in the solid phase. Our discovery highlights the potential of using double aliphatic functionalization as a promising approach to facilitate solid-state switching of large aromatic photoswitches. This finding opens up new possibilities for exploring various photoswitch candidates for molecular solar thermal energy storage applications.

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D3SC03465H
Article type: Edge Article
Submitted: 06 Jul 2023
Accepted: 17 Sep 2023
First published: 26 Sep 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry

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Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 11359-11364

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Visible light activated energy storage in solid-state Azo-BF₂ switches

Q. Qiu, Q. Qi, J. Usuba, K. Lee, I. Aprahamian and G. G. D. Han, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 11359 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC03465H

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