Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Gothenburg, Kemigården 4, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Sci Rep. 2017 Jan 24;7:41145. doi: 10.1038/srep41145.
Photoswitchable molecules are able to isomerize between two metastable forms through light stimuli. Originally being studied by photochemists, this type of molecule has now found a wide range of applications within physics, chemistry and biology. The extensive usage of photochromic molecules is due to the two isomers having fundamentally different physical and chemical properties. The most important attribute of a photoswitch is the photoisomerization quantum yield, which defines the efficiency of the photoisomerization event. Here we show how to determine the photoisomerization quantum yield in the solid state and in solution when taking thermal processes into account. The described method together with provided software allows for rapid and accurate determination of the isomerization process for this important class of molecules.
光致变色分子能够通过光刺激在两种亚稳态之间发生异构化。最初由光化学家研究，这种分子现在在物理、化学和生物学中得到了广泛的应用。光致变色分子的广泛使用是由于两种异构体具有根本不同的物理和化学性质。光开关最重要的属性是光异构化量子产率，它定义了光异构化事件的效率。在这里，我们展示了当考虑热过程时，如何在固态和溶液中确定光异构化量子产率。所描述的方法以及提供的软件允许快速准确地确定这类重要分子的异构化过程。
