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Updated: May 18, 2026

Controlled Photoredox Ring-Opening Polymerization of O-Carboxyanhydrides Mediated by Ni/Zn Complexes
Published on: November 21, 2017
meta-Oligoazobiphenyls - synthesis via site-selective Mills reaction and photochemical properties
Raphael Reuter1, Hermann A Wegner
1University of Basel, Department of Chemistry, St. Johanns-Ring 19, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The investigation of multi-photochromic compounds constitutes a great challenge, not only from a synthetic point of view, but also with respect to the analysis of the photochemical properties. In this context we designed a novel strategy to access meta-oligoazobiphenyls via site-selective Mills reaction and Suzuki cross-coupling in a highly efficient iterative way. Photochemical examination of the resulting monomeric and oligomeric azo compounds revealed that the overall degree of switching was independent of the connected azo-units. However, one of the azobonds in the bis-azobiphenyl is isomerized preferentially despite the high structural similarity.
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