Department of Chemistry and ‡Centre of Excellence in Nanoscience and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) , Thiruvananthapuram, 695547 Kerala, India.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 Jan 18;9(2):1167-1172. doi: 10.1021/acsami.6b10752. Epub 2016 Dec 21.
Tuning the microstructure, conductance, band gap of a single molecule with an external stimuli such as light have vital importance in nanoscale molecular electronics. Azobenzene systems are inimitable light responsive molecules suitable for the development of optically modulated materials. In this work we have demonstrated the development of an optically active Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT)-hybrid material by the noncovalent functionalization of azo based chromophore derived from cardanol, a bioresource material. This photoresponsive noncovalent hybrid shows trans-cis photoisomerization induced switching of conductance. We report this as the first example in which the photochromic assembly developed from a bioresource material exhibited tunable conductivity. We expect that this novel photoswitchable hybrid with reversible conductance may have potential applications in nanoscale molecular electronics, solar cells, OLEDs, etc.
通过外部刺激（如光）来调整单个分子的微观结构、电导率和带隙在纳米分子电子学中具有重要意义。偶氮苯体系是一种独特的光响应分子，适合开发光调制材料。在这项工作中，我们通过非共价功能化源自生物资源腰果酚的偶氮生色团，展示了一种具有光活性的多壁碳纳米管（MWCNT）-杂化材料的开发。这种光响应的非共价杂化材料表现出由顺式-反式光致异构化诱导的电导开关。我们报告说，这是首例由生物资源材料制备的光致变色组装体表现出可调导电性的例子。我们期望这种具有可逆电导率的新型光致开关杂化材料在纳米分子电子学、太阳能电池、有机发光二极管等领域具有潜在的应用前景。
