Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Determination of the Photoisomerization Quantum Yield of a Hydrazone Photoswitch
Published on: February 7, 2022
Molecular Photoswitching of Main-Chain α-Bisimines in Solid-State Polymers
Linh Duy Thai1,2,3, Thiago R Guimaraes1,2, Lewis C Chambers1,2
1School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.
Abstract:
Photoisomerization of chromophores usually shows significantly less efficiency in solid polymers than in solution as strong intermolecular interactions lock their conformation. Herein, we establish the impact of macromolecular architecture on the isomerization efficiency of main-chain-incorporated chromophores (i.e., α-bisimine) in both solution and the solid state. We demonstrate that branched architectures deliver the highest isomerization efficiency for the main-chain chromophore in the solid state─remarkably as high as 70% compared to solution. The macromolecular design principles established herein for efficient solid-state photoisomerization can serve as a blueprint for enhancing the solid-state isomerization efficiency for other polymer systems, such as those based on azobenzenes.
More Related Videos
06:24High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
12:51A 'Plug and Play' Method to Create Water-dispersible Nanoassemblies Containing an Amphiphilic Polymer, Organic Dyes and Upconverting Nanoparticles
Published on: November 14, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry
Selection Rules: Photochemical Activation
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Molecular Electronic Transitions
Cycloaddition Reactions: MO Requirements for Photochemical Activation
Thermal and Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Overview
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...
Stereoisomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...