The butterfly effect of photochromes

Abstract

Beyond their application in switchable optical materials, photochromic molecules are also solid building blocks to make nanoscopic objects light-responsive, in order to control molecular motions, convert and store light into chemical energy, or drive chemical reactions. An outstanding quality, in these regards, is the possibility of operating a minor variation on the photochrome structure, such as via covalent or supramolecular strategies, that can ultimately result in a large tuning of the photoresponsivity, both at the molecular and material level. The PhD manuscript here highlighted, titled “Novel Photo- and Electro-responsive Supramolecular Systems and Molecular Machines” and awarded the 2020 European Photochemistry Association PhD Prize, covered several studies on how azobenzene- and terarylene-based photochromes can be employed as photoresponsive components of smart materials and how minor adjustments on their molecular structure can generate drastic changes in their performance, in a sort of butterfly effect fashion.