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Ultrafast Photoswitching Dynamics of Azobenzenes with Intra- and Intermolecular Constraints

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Photon-Working Switches

Abstract

Femtosecond time-resolved absorption and emission spectroscopy has been used to study the ultrafast photoinduced processes of azobenzenes (ABs) influenced by intra- and intermolecular constraints. For diazocine, an AB with an intramolecular bridge, accelerated molecular dynamics and increased switching efficiencies demonstrate that favourable pre-orientation and restricted molecular degrees of freedom in rigidified molecules may lead to improved optical switching properties. The significant effects of push–pull substitution were studied for the prototypical AB derivative Disperse Red 1 (DR1), which was shown to undergo sequential electronic deactivation and isomerisation. Finally, dramatic increases of the excited-state lifetimes of AB switches covalently embedded into polymeric micronetworks indicate that the photoisomerisation is severely resisted by mechanical forces inside the polymer environment. AB-functionalised polymer materials should thus avoid cross-linking or entanglement of the chromophores and provide ample free volume. Overall, the results demonstrate that detailed insight into the ultrafast photoswitching dynamics can provide guidelines for the design of photoswitchable systems with better performance.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their deepest gratitude to the present and the former PhD students Shuangqing Wang, Katharina Röttger and Ron Siewertsen for their invaluable contributions. Much of the work reported here was part of J.B.’s Ph.D. thesis. Furthermore, we would like to thank sincerely Walter Richtering and Felix Plamper (RWTH Aachen) for a very fruitful collaboration on AB-functionalised polymer colloids, and our colleagues and collaboration partners Bernd Hartke, Jan Boyke Schönborn and Ole Carstensen for many stimulating discussions and sharing their simulation data. Finally, financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through sub-project A1 of the SFB 677 ‘Function by Switching’ is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, 24098, Kiel, Germany

    Falk Renth, Julia Bahrenburg & Friedrich Temps

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  1. Falk Renth
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  2. Julia Bahrenburg
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  3. Friedrich Temps
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Correspondence to Falk Renth .

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  1. Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

    Yasushi Yokoyama

  2. École normale supérieure de Cachan, Université Paris-Saclay, Cachan, France

    Keitaro Nakatani

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Renth, F., Bahrenburg, J., Temps, F. (2017). Ultrafast Photoswitching Dynamics of Azobenzenes with Intra- and Intermolecular Constraints. In: Yokoyama, Y., Nakatani, K. (eds) Photon-Working Switches. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-56544-4_12

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