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Photoswitches beyond azobenzene: a beginner’s guide
- Michela Marcon,
- Christoph Haag and
- Burkhard König
Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1808–1853, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.143
- explain the important terminology and discuss the synthesis, switching mechanisms, and properties of seven interesting photoswitch classes, namely azoheteroarenes, diazocines, indigoid photoswitches, arylhydrazones, diarylethenes, fulgides, and spiropyrans. Keywords: photoswitches; photoswitch properties
Graphical Abstract
Figure 1: Energy diagram of a two-state photoswitch. Figure 1 was redrawn from [2].
Figure 2: Example of the absorption spectra of the isomers of a photoswitch with most efficient irradiation w...
Scheme 1: Photoswitch classes described in this review.
Figure 3: Azoheteroarenes.
Scheme 2: E–Z Isomerisation (top) and mechanisms of thermal Z–E isomerisation (bottom).
Scheme 3: Rotation mechanism favoured by the electron displacement in push–pull systems. Selected examples of...
Figure 4: A) T-shaped and twisted Z-isomers determine the thermal stability and the Z–E-PSS (selected example...
Figure 5: Effect of di-ortho-substitution on thermal half-life and PSS.
Figure 6: Selected thermal lifetimes of azoindoles in different solvents and concentrations. aConcentration o...
Figure 7: Aryliminopyrazoles: N-pyrazoles (top) and N-phenyl (bottom).
Scheme 4: Synthesis of symmetrical heteroarenes through oxidation (A), reduction (B), and the Bayer–Mills rea...
Scheme 5: Synthesis of diazonium salt (A); different strategies of azo-coupling: with a nucleophilic ring (B)...
Scheme 6: Synthesis of arylazothiazoles 25 (A) and heteroaryltriazoles 28 (B).
Scheme 7: Synthesis of heteroarylimines 31a,b [36-38].
Figure 8: Push–pull non-ionic azo dye developed by Velasco and co-workers [45].
Scheme 8: Azopyridine reported by Herges and co-workers [46].
Scheme 9: Photoinduced phase transitioning azobispyrazoles [47].
Figure 9: Diazocines.
Scheme 10: Isomers, conformers and enantiomers of diazocine.
Scheme 11: Partial overlap of the ππ* band with electron-donating substituents and effect on the PSS. Scheme 11 was ada...
Figure 10: Main properties of diazocines with different bridges. aMeasured in n-hexane [56]. bMeasured in THF. cMe...
Scheme 12: Synthesis of symmetric diazocines.
Scheme 13: Synthesis of asymmetric diazocines.
Scheme 14: Synthesis of O- and S-heterodiazocines.
Scheme 15: Synthesis of N-heterodiazocines.
Scheme 16: Puromycin diazocine photoswitch [60].
Figure 11: Indigoids.
Figure 12: The main representatives of the indigoid photoswitch class.
Scheme 17: Deactivation process that prevents Z-isomerisation of indigo.
Figure 13: Stable Z-indigo derivative synthesised by Wyman and Zenhäusern [67].
Figure 14: Selected examples of indigos with aliphatic and aromatic substituents [68]. Dashed box: proposed π–π in...
Scheme 18: Resonance structures of indigo and thioindigo involving the phenyl ring.
Scheme 19: Possible deactivation mechanism for 4,4'-dihydroxythioindigo [76].
Scheme 20: Effect of different heteroaryl rings on the stability and the photophysical properties of hemiindig...
Figure 15: Thermal half-lives of red-shifted hemithioindigos in toluene [79]. aMeasured in toluene-d8.
Scheme 21: Structures of pyrrole [81] and imidazole hemithioindigo [64].
Figure 16: Examples of fully substituted double bond hemithioindigo (left), oxidised hemithioindigos (centre),...
Scheme 22: Structure of iminothioindoxyl 72 (top) and acylated phenyliminoindolinone photoswitch 73 (bottom). ...
Scheme 23: (top) Transition states of iminothioindoxyl 72. The planar transition state is associated with a lo...
Scheme 24: Baeyer–Drewsen synthesis of indigo (top) and N-functionalisation strategies (bottom).
Scheme 25: Synthesis of hemiindigo.
Scheme 26: Synthesis of hemithioindigo and iminothioindoxyl.
Scheme 27: Synthesis of double-bond-substituted hemithioindigos.
Scheme 28: Synthesis of phenyliminoindolinone.
Scheme 29: Hemithioindigo molecular motor [85].
Figure 17: Arylhydrazones.
Scheme 30: Switching of arylhydrazones. Note: The definitions of stator and rotor are arbitrary.
Scheme 31: Photo- and acidochromism of pyridine-based phenylhydrazones.
Scheme 32: A) E–Z thermal inversion of a thermally stable push–pull hydrazone [109]. B) Rotation mechanism favoured...
Scheme 33: Effect of planarisation on the half-life.
Scheme 34: The longest thermally stable hydrazone switches reported so far (left). Modulation of thermal half-...
Figure 18: Dependency of t1/2 on concentration and hypothesised aggregation-induced isomerisation.
Figure 19: Structure–property relationship of acylhydrazones.
Scheme 35: Synthesis of arylhydrazones.
Scheme 36: Synthesis of acylhydrazones.
Scheme 37: Photoswitchable fluorophore by Aprahamian et al. [115].
Scheme 38: The four-state photoswitch synthesised by the Cigáň group [116].
Figure 20: Diarylethenes.
Scheme 39: Isomerisation and oxidation pathway of E-stilbene to phenanthrene.
Scheme 40: Strategies adapted to avoid E–Z isomerisation and oxidation.
Scheme 41: Molecular orbitals and mechanism of electrocyclisation for a 6π system.
Figure 21: Aromatic stabilisation energy correlated with the thermal stability of the diarylethenes [127,129].
Figure 22: Half-lives of diarylethenes with increasing electron-withdrawing groups [128,129].
Scheme 42: Photochemical degradation pathway promoted by electron-donating groups [130].
Figure 23: The diarylethenes studied by Hanazawa et al. [134]. Increased rigidity leads to bathochromic shift.
Scheme 43: The dithienylethene synthesised by Nakatani's group [135].
Scheme 44: Synthesis of perfluoroalkylated diarylethenes.
Scheme 45: Synthesis of 139 and 142 via McMurry coupling.
Scheme 46: Synthesis of symmetrical derivatives 145 via Suzuki–Miyaura coupling.
Scheme 47: Synthesis of acyclic 148, malonic anhydride 149, and maleimide derivatives 154.
Figure 24: Gramicidin S (top left) and two of the modified diarylethene derivatives: first generation (bottom ...
Scheme 48: Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and its reaction with an amino acid (top). The analogous dithienylethene der...
Figure 25: Fulgides.
Scheme 49: The three isomers of fulgides.
Scheme 50: Thermal and photochemical side products of unsubstituted fulgide [150].
Figure 26: Maximum absorption λc of the closed isomer compared with the nature of the aromatic ring and the su...
Scheme 51: Possible rearrangement of the excited state of 5-dimethylaminoindolylfulgide [153].
Figure 27: Quantum yields of ring closure (ΦE→C) and E–Z isomerisation (ΦE→Z) correlated with the increasing s...
Scheme 52: Active (Eα) and inactive (Eβ) conformers (left) and the bicyclic sterically blocked fulgide 169 (ri...
Scheme 53: Quantum yield of ring-opening (ΦC→E) and E–Z isomerisation (ΦE→Z) for different substitution patter...
Scheme 54: Stobbe condensation pathway for the synthesis of fulgides 179, fulgimides 181 and fulgenates 178.
Scheme 55: Alternative synthesis of fulgides through Pd-catalysed carbonylation.
Scheme 56: Optimised synthesis of fulgimides [166].
Scheme 57: Photoswitchable FRET with a fulgimide photoswitch [167].
Scheme 58: Three-state fulgimide strategy by Slanina's group.
Figure 28: Spiropyrans.
Scheme 59: Photochemical (left) and thermal (right) ring-opening mechanisms for an exemplary spiropyran with a...
Figure 29: Eight possible isomers of the open merocyanine according to the E/Z configurations of the bonds hig...
Scheme 60: pH-Controlled photoisomerisation between the closed spiropyran 191-SP and the open E-merocyanine 19...
Scheme 61: Behaviour of spiropyran in water buffer according to Andréasson and co-workers [180]. 192-SP in an aqueo...
Scheme 62: (left box) Proposed mechanism of basic hydrolysis of MC [184]. (right box) Introduction of electron-dona...
Scheme 63: Photochemical interconversion of naphthopyran 194 (top) and spirooxazine 195 (bottom) photoswitches...
Scheme 64: Synthesis of spiropyrans and spirooxazines 198 and the dicondensation by-product 199.
Scheme 65: Alternative synthesis of spiropyrans and spirooxazines with indolenylium salt 200.
Scheme 66: Synthesis of 4’-substituted spiropyrans 203 by condensation of an acylated methylene indoline 201 w...
Scheme 67: Synthesis of spironaphthopyrans 210 by acid-catalysed condensation of naphthols and diarylpropargyl...
Scheme 68: Photoswitchable surface wettability [194].
Figure 30: Some guiding principles for the choice of the most suitable photoswitch. Note that this guide is ve...
