Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026

High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
Photochemically reversible and thermally stable axially chiral diarylethene switches
1Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44240, USA.
Abstract:
A series of dithienylcyclopentenes containing axially chiral 1,1'-binaphthyl units were successfully synthesized by a Suzuki-Miyaura protocol. All these compounds exhibited photochemically reversible isomerization with thermal stability in both organic solvent and a liquid crystal (LC) host. When doping into an achiral LC host, some of them exhibited very high helical twisting powers. Reversible reflection wavelength tuning in the visible region and LC phase switching between nematic and cholesteric upon light irradiation were demonstrated.
Related Concept Videos
Thermal and Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Overview
Thermal Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry
Selection Rules: Thermal Activation
Conjugated systems containing an even number of π-electron pairs undergo a conrotatory ring closure. For example, thermal electrocyclization of (2E,4E)-2,4-hexadiene, a conjugated diene containing two π-electron pairs, gives trans-3,4-dimethylcyclobutene.
[3,3] Sigmatropic Rearrangement of 1,5-Dienes: Cope Rearrangement
Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry
Selection Rules: Photochemical Activation
Woodward–Hoffmann Selection Rules and Microscopic Reversibility
Thermal Sigmatropic Reactions: Overview
Sigmatropic shifts are classified based on an order term [i, j ], where i and j indicate the number of atoms across which each end of the σ bond migrates. Below are examples of a [3,3] sigmatropic shift in 1,5-hexadiene, referred to as...

