Synthesis, Optoelectronic Properties of a Novel Photochromic Diarylethene Bearing Phenyl and Benzofuran Group
An unsymmetrical diarylethene derivative bearing both phenyl and benzofuranyl, in which a trifluoromethyl group was substituted at the para-positions of the terminal phenyl ring, was synthesized. At the same time, its photochromic properties and fluorescence switch were investigated in detail. The results showed that this compound exhibited reversible photochromism, undergoing reversible cyclization and cycloreversion reactions upon alternating irradiation with UV and visible light both in solution and in PMMA film, and its absorption maxima were observed at 498 nm in hexane and at 505 nm in PMMA amorphous film, respectively, upon irradiation with 297 nm UV light. In hexane solution, the open-ring isomer of the diarylethene 1 exhibited relatively strong fluorescence at 419 nm when excited at 330 nm