Spirooxazine dyes

Abstract

AbstractThis article provides an introductory overview of a class of colorant that underpinned the establishment of the most industrially important application of photochromic dyes. It outlines the properties that led to the rise (and subsequent decline) in commercial significance of spirooxazine colorants, and which attract researchers seeking to put them to work in new technologies. Within this survey, the chief means of synthesising such dyes and adjusting their photochromism are briefly discussed. The reader is directed to useful sources of information concerning not only these aspects, but also potential applications for spirooxazine-based photochromism.