Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 11, 2026
09:35
Preparation of a Corannulene-functionalized Hexahelicene by CopperI-catalyzed Alkyne-azide Cycloaddition of Nonplanar Polyaromatic Units
Published on: September 18, 2016
12.0K
Photochromic Diarylethenes with a Curved Aromatic Corannulene Unit
Ryuta Imai1, Shohei Katao2, Fumio Asanoma2
1Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
ACS Omega
|November 10, 2025
Summary
New photochromic diarylethenes featuring a curved corannulene unit were synthesized. These compounds exhibit tunable photochromic and fluorescence switching properties, with potential applications in advanced materials.
Area of Science:
- Organic Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Photochemistry
Background:
- Photochromic diarylethenes are crucial for optical memory and switching devices.
- Incorporating curved aromatic units can influence photophysical properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize novel photochromic diarylethenes with a corannulene moiety.
- To investigate their photochromic behavior, fluorescence, and phosphorescence properties.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of diarylethene derivatives 1 and 2.
- Photochemical and photophysical characterization (UV-Vis, fluorescence, phosphorescence).
- Comparison with a previously synthesized diarylethene (3).
Main Results:
- Compounds 1 and 2 showed efficient photochromic switching with high quantum yields.
- Open-ring isomers (1o, 2o) exhibited fluorescence, while closed-ring isomer 1c did not.
- Fluorescence wavelength switching was observed for 2c, and phosphorescence switching for 1o and 3o.
Conclusions:
- The corannulene unit modulates photochromic and luminescence properties.
- Compounds 1 and 2 demonstrate potential for advanced photoresponsive materials.
- The observed differences in phosphorescence switching are linked to excited state characteristics and the corannulene moiety.
![Cercosporin-Photocatalyzed [4+1]- and [4+2]-Annulations of Azoalkenes Under Mild Conditions](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F60786.jpg&w=3840&q=50)
Related Concept Videos
01:18Aromatic Hydrocarbon Cations: Structural Overview
3.6K
Cycloheptatriene is a neutral monocyclic unsaturated hydrocarbon that consists of an odd number of carbon atoms and an intervening sp3 carbon in the ring. The three double bonds in the ring correspond to 6 π electrons, which is a Huckel number, and therefore satisfies the criteria of 4n + 2 π electrons. However, the intervening sp3 carbon disrupts the continuous overlap of p orbitals. As a result, cycloheptatriene is not aromatic.
Removing one hydrogen from the intervening CH2 group...
Removing one hydrogen from the intervening CH2 group...
3.6K
01:18Aromatic Hydrocarbon Anions: Structural Overview
3.5K
Neutral hydrocarbons like cyclopentadiene with an odd number of carbon atoms and one intervening CH2 group in the ring are not aromatic. Cyclopentadiene with 4 π electrons does not satisfy the 4n + 2 π electron rule. Additionally, the intervening CH2 group is sp3 hybridized and lacks a vacant p orbital, thereby interrupting the overlap of p orbitals in a continuous manner and preventing the delocalization of π electrons throughout the ring.
Due to the absence of continuous...
Due to the absence of continuous...
3.5K
01:16Structure of Conjugated Dienes
6.7K
Introduction
Conjugated dienes are compounds characterized by the presence of alternating double and single bonds. In a conjugated system like 1,3-butadiene, the unhybridized 2p orbital on each carbon overlaps continuously, allowing the π electrons to be delocalized across the entire molecule. In contrast, this type of overlap does not occur in cumulated and isolated dienes, such as 2,3-pentadiene and 1,4-pentadiene, respectively. Instead, the π electrons remain localized between the double...
Conjugated dienes are compounds characterized by the presence of alternating double and single bonds. In a conjugated system like 1,3-butadiene, the unhybridized 2p orbital on each carbon overlaps continuously, allowing the π electrons to be delocalized across the entire molecule. In contrast, this type of overlap does not occur in cumulated and isolated dienes, such as 2,3-pentadiene and 1,4-pentadiene, respectively. Instead, the π electrons remain localized between the double...
6.7K
![[4+2] Cycloaddition of Conjugated Dienes: Diels–Alder Reaction](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2Ffiles%2Fmedia%2Fscience-education%2Fscience-education-thumbs%2F12417.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
01:16[4+2] Cycloaddition of Conjugated Dienes: Diels–Alder Reaction
12.1K
The Diels–Alder reaction is an example of a thermal pericyclic reaction between a conjugated diene and an alkene or alkyne, commonly referred to as a dienophile. The reaction involves a concerted movement of six π electrons, four from the diene and two from the dienophile, forming an unsaturated six-membered ring. As a result, these reactions are classified as [4+2] cycloadditions.
12.1K
01:26Photochemical Electrocyclic Reactions: Stereochemistry
2.2K
The absorption of UV–visible light by conjugated systems causes the promotion of an electron from the ground state to the excited state. Consequently, photochemical electrocyclic reactions proceed via the excited-state HOMO rather than the ground-state HOMO. Since the ground- and excited-state HOMOs have different symmetries, the stereochemical outcome of electrocyclic reactions depends on the mode of activation; i.e., thermal or photochemical.
Selection Rules: Photochemical Activation
Selection Rules: Photochemical Activation
2.2K
01:20Criteria for Aromaticity and the Hückel 4n + 2 Rule
12.7K
Like benzene, cyclobutadiene and cyclooctatetraene are cyclic compounds with alternate single and double bonds. However, their chemical behavior differs from benzene, as they are unstable and not aromatic. So, what are the structural characteristics of unsaturated compounds categorized as aromatic?
For the first time, Eric Hückel, a German chemical physicist, derived a set of structural features for a compound to be classified as aromatic. This is now known as Hückel’s rule or the 4n +...
For the first time, Eric Hückel, a German chemical physicist, derived a set of structural features for a compound to be classified as aromatic. This is now known as Hückel’s rule or the 4n +...
12.7K