A Photochromic Diarylethene Bearing a Six-Membered Aryl Unit

Abstract

A new unsymmetrical photochromic diarylethene compound1awas synthesized and its photochromism were investigated, such as photochromism and kinetics in solution. The compound exhibited good photochromism in solution with alternating irradiation by UV/Vis light, and the maxima absorption of its closed-ring isomer1bare 515nm. The open-ring isomer of the diarylethene1aexhibited relatively strong fluorescence at 424 nm when excited at 280 nm. Its fluorescence intensity decreased along with the photochromism from open-ring isomers to closed-ring isomers upon irradiation with 297 nm UV light.