Department of Chemistry, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
Adv Mater. 2010 Aug 17;22(31):3348-60. doi: 10.1002/adma.200904102.
Small organic molecules, capable of undergoing efficient and reversible photochemical reactions to switch them between (at least) two (meta)stable isomers associated with markedly different properties, continue to impact the materials world. Such photoswitches are being implemented in a variety of materials for applications ranging from optical devices to "smart" polymers. All approaches exploit the photoswitching molecular entities as gates, which translate an incoming light stimulus to trigger macroscopic property changes of the materials. In this progress report, the most promising recent examples in this field are highlighted and put in perspective. Moving from supramolecular systems in solution to surfaces and finally to bulk materials, important design concepts are discussed, emphasizing both the challenges as well as the great promise of such truly advanced materials.
小分子光致变色化合物能够发生高效和可逆的光化学反应，在至少两种（亚）稳定的互变异构体之间切换，这些互变异构体与明显不同的性质相关联，它们继续影响着材料世界。这种光开关被应用于各种材料中，从光学器件到“智能”聚合物，其应用范围广泛。所有方法都利用光致变色分子实体作为门，将输入的光刺激转换为触发材料宏观性质变化的信号。在本进展报告中，突出强调了该领域中最有前途的最新实例，并进行了深入分析。从溶液中的超分子体系到表面，再到块状材料，讨论了重要的设计概念，强调了这些真正先进材料的挑战和巨大潜力。
