Photoprocesses in spiropyrans and their merocyanine isomers: Effects of temperature and viscosity

Chemistry of the photoisomerization and thermal reset of nitro-spiropyran and merocyanine molecules on the channel of the MoS2 field effect transistor

We have explored the chemical reaction of the photoisomerization and thermal reaction of the photochromic spiropyran (SP) 1',3'-Dihydro-1',3',3' trimethyl-6-nitrospiro[2H-1 benzopyran-2,2'-(2H)-indole] molecule deposited on the atomic thin channel of a MoS₂ field-effect transistor (FET) through the analysis of the FET property. With four monolayers of SP molecules on the channel, we observed a clear shift of the threshold voltage in the drain-current vs gate-voltage plot with UV-light injection on the molecule, which was due to the change of the SP molecule to merocyanine (MC). A complete reset from MC to SP molecule was achieved by thermal annealing, while the injection of green light could revert the FET property to the original condition. In the process of change from MC to SP, two types of decay rates were confirmed. The quick- and slow-decay components corresponded to the molecules attached directly to the substrate and those in the upper layer, respectively. The activation energies for the conversion of MC to SP molecules were estimated as 71 kJ/mol and 90 kJ/mol for the former and latter, respectively. Combined with DFT calculations, we concluded that the I_d-V_g shift with photoisomerization from SP to MC is due to the upper layer molecules and the dipole moment in the surface normal direction. Based on the estimated activation energy of 90 kJ/mol for the reset process, we calculated the conversion rate in a controllable temperature range. From these values, we consider that the chemical state of MC can be maintained and switched in a designated time period, which demonstrates the possibility of this system in logical operation applications.

Spiropyran dyes

This article furnishes an introduction to one of the most well-known classes of photochromic colorant. While the properties of spiropyran dyes inspired pioneering efforts to exploit photochromism for industrial applications, their lack of robustness held them back from commercialization. Nevertheless, this type of dye remains at the heart of much of the work to develop light-responsive materials upon which many potential applications in different fields of scientific and technological endeavor depend. The article describes the photochromism, synthesis, and applications of spiropyran colorants with an emphasis on the structural subtype that has attracted the greatest scrutiny. It also acts as a springboard to sources of more detail on these aspects.

Synthesis of Functionalised Indoline Spiropyrans by Condensation of Indolo[2,1-b][1,3]Benzoxazines with Ortho-hydroxy-substituted Aromatic Aldehydes

Condensation of 5a,6-dihydro-5a,6,6-trimethyl-2-nitro-12H-indolo[2,1-b][1,3]benzoxazine derivatives with ortho-hydroxy-substituted aromatic aldehydes afforded 1′-(2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl)spiro[1-benzopyran-2,2′-indoline].

Nanosecond laser flash photolysis of a 6-nitroindolinospiropyran in solution and in nanocrystalline suspension under single excitation conditions

Nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy was used to study the photochemical ring-opening reaction for a 6-nitroindolinospiropyran (SP1) in solution and in nanocrystalline (NC) suspension at 298 K. We measured the kinetics in argon purged and air saturated acetonitrile and found that the presence of oxygen affected two out of the three components of the kinetic decay at 440 nm. These are assigned to the triplet excited states of the Z- and E-merocyanines (3Z-MC* and 3E-MC*). In contrast, a long-lived growth component at 550 nm and the decay of a band centered at 590 nm showed no dependence on oxygen and are assigned, respectively, to the ground state Z- and E-merocyanines (Z-MC0 and E-MC0). Laser flash photolysis studies performed in NC suspensions initially showed a very broad, featureless absorption spectrum that decayed uniformly for ca. 70 ns before revealing a more defined spectrum that persisted for greater than 4 ms and is consistent with a mixture of the more stable Z- and E-MC0 structures. We performed quantum mechanical calculations on the interconversion of E- and Z-MCs on the S0 and S1 potential energy surfaces. The computed UV-vis spectra for a scan along the Z → E interconversion reaction coordinate show substantial absorptivity from 300-600 nm, which suggests that the broad, featureless transient absorption spectrum results from the contribution of the transition structure and other high-energy species during the Z to E isomerization.

A versatile method for the determination of photochemical quantum yieldsviaonline UV-Vis spectroscopy

On-line UV-Vis monitoring of photochemical reactions driven by LEDs allows the straightforward determination of quantum yields.

Photochromic molecular implementations of universal computation

Unconventional computing is an area of research in which novel materials and paradigms are utilised to implement computation. Previously we have demonstrated how registers, logic gates and logic circuits can be implemented, unconventionally, with a biocompatible molecular switch, NitroBIPS, embedded in a polymer matrix. NitroBIPS and related molecules have been shown elsewhere to be capable of modifying many biological processes in a manner that is dependent on its molecular form. Thus, one possible application of this type of unconventional computing is to embed computational processes into biological systems. Here we expand on our earlier proof-of-principle work and demonstrate that universal computation can be implemented using NitroBIPS. We have previously shown that spatially localised computational elements, including registers and logic gates, can be produced. We explain how parallel registers can be implemented, then demonstrate an application of parallel registers in the form of Turing machine tapes, and demonstrate both parallel registers and logic circuits in the form of elementary cellular automata. The Turing machines and elementary cellular automata utilise the same samples and same hardware to implement their registers, logic gates and logic circuits; and both represent examples of universal computing paradigms. This shows that homogenous photochromic computational devices can be dynamically repurposed without invasive reconfiguration. The result represents an important, necessary step towards demonstrating the general feasibility of interfacial computation embedded in biological systems or other unconventional materials and environments.

Synergy of different fluorescent enhancement effects on spiropyran appended onto cellulose

An excellent fluorescent material derived from spiropyran species was facilely fabricated by appending spiropyran onto the cellulose matrix via a covalent link of an ester carbonyl group. The interior high-polar environment in the porous cellulose matrix can promote the concentration of the merocyanine form; the conformational constraint of cellulose cavities and the elimination of solvent influence can sufficiently develop the quantum yield of merocyanine. In contrast with other spiropyran materials, the synergy of the three different effects can significantly enhance the fluorescent intensity of the spiropyran compound by 1 order of magnitude approximately. These experimental results may bring about more promising applications of spiropyran species beyond their photochromic properties.

Photoswitching-enabled novel optical imaging: innovative solutions for real-world challenges in fluorescence detections

Because of its ultrasensitivity, fluorescence offers a noninvasive means to investigate biomolecular mechanisms, pathways, and regulations in living cells, tissues, and animals. However, real-world applications of fluorescence technologies encounter many practical challenges. For example, the intrinsic heterogeneity of biological samples always generates optical interferences. High background such as autofluorescence can often obscure the desired signals. Finally, the wave properties of light limit the spatial resolution of optical microscopy. The key to solving these problems involves using chemical structures that can modulate the fluorescence output. Photoswitchable fluorescent molecules that alternate their emissions between two colors or between bright-and-dark states in response to external light stimulation form the core of these technologies. For example, molecular fluorescence modulation can switch fluorophores on and off. This feature supports super-resolution, which enhances resolution by an order of magnitude greater than the longstanding diffraction-limit barrier. The reversible modulation of such probes at a particular frequency significantly amplifies the frequency-bearing target signal while suppressing interferences and autofluorescence. In this Account, we outline the fundamental connection between constant excitation and oscillating fluorescence. To create molecules that will convert a constant excitation into oscillating emission, we have synthesized photoswitchable probes and demonstrated them as proofs of concept in super-resolution imaging and frequency-domain imaging. First, we introduce the design of molecules that can convert constant excitation into oscillating emission, the key step in fluorescence modulation. Then we discuss various technologies that use fluorescence modulation: super-resolution imaging, dual-color imaging, phase-sensitive lock-in detection, and frequency-domain imaging. Finally, we present two biological applications to demonstrate the power of photoswitching-enabled fluorescence imaging. Because synthetic photoswitchable probes can be much smaller, more versatile, and more efficient at high-performance modulation experiments, they provide a complement to photoswitchable fluorescent proteins. Although new challenges remain, we foresee a bright future for photoswitching-enabled imaging and detection.

Light-controlled tools

Spatial and temporal control over chemical and biological processes plays a key role in life, where the whole is often much more than the sum of its parts. Quite trivially, the molecules of a cell do not form a living system if they are only arranged in a random fashion. If we want to understand these relationships and especially the problems arising from malfunction, tools are necessary that allow us to design sophisticated experiments that address these questions. Highly valuable in this respect are external triggers that enable us to precisely determine where, when, and to what extent a process is started or stopped. Light is an ideal external trigger: It is highly selective and if applied correctly also harmless. It can be generated and manipulated with well-established techniques, and many ways exist to apply light to living systems--from cells to higher organisms. This Review will focus on developments over the last six years and includes discussions on the underlying technologies as well as their applications.

Fast and stable photochromic oxazines for fluorescence switching

The stringent limitations imposed by diffraction on the spatial resolution of fluorescence microscopes demand the identification of viable strategies to switch fluorescence under optical control. In this context, the photoinduced and reversible transformations of photochromic compounds are particularly valuable. In fact, these molecules can be engineered to regulate the emission intensities of complementary fluorophores in response to optical stimulations. On the basis of this general design logic, we assembled a functional molecular construct consisting of a borondipyrromethene fluorophore and a nitrospiropyran photochrome and demonstrated that the emission of the former can be modulated with the interconversion of the latter. This fluorophore-photochrome dyad, however, has a slow switching speed and poor fatigue resistance. To improve both parameters, we developed a new family of photochromic switches based on the photoinduced opening and thermal closing of an oxazine ring. These compounds switch back and forth between ring-closed and -open isomers on nanosecond-microsecond timescales and tolerate thousands of switching cycles with no sign of degradation. In addition, the attachment of appropriate chromophoric fragments to their switchable oxazine ring can be exploited to either deactivate or activate fluorescence reversibly in response to illumination with a pair of exciting beams. Specifically, we assembled three dyads, each based on either a borondipyrromethene or a coumarin fluorophore and an oxazine photochrome, and modulated their fluorescence in a few microseconds with outstanding fatigue resistance. The unique photochemical and photophysical properties of our fluorophore-photochrome dyads can facilitate the development of switchable fluorophores for superresolution imaging and, ultimately, provide valuable molecular probes for the visualization of biological samples on the nanometer level.

Photoswitching-induced frequency-locked donor-acceptor fluorescence double modulations identify the target analyte in complex environments

Precisely identifying biological targets and accurately extracting their relatively weak signals from complicated physiological environments represent daunting challenges in biological detection and biomedical diagnosis. Fluorescence techniques have become the method of choice and offer minimally invasive and ultrasensitive detections, thus, providing a wealth of information regarding the biological mechanisms in living systems. Despite fluorescence analysis has advanced remarkably, conventional detections still encounter considerable limitations. This stems from the fact that the fluorescence intensity signal (I) is sensitive and liable to numerous external factors including temperature, light source, medium characteristics, and dye concentration. The interferences exasperatingly undermine the precision of measurements, and frequently render the signal undetectable. For example, fluorescence from single-molecule emitters can be measured on glass substrates under optimum conditions, but single-molecule events in complicated physiological environments such as live cells can hardly be detected because of autofluorescence interference and other factors. Furthermore, traditional intensity (I) and wavelength (λ) measurements do not reveal the interactive nature between the donor and the acceptor. Thus, innovative detection strategies to circumvent these aforementioned limitations of the conventional techniques are critically needed. With the use of photoswitching-induced donor-acceptor-fluorescence double modulations, we present a novel strategy that introduces three additional physical parameters: modulation amplitude (A), phase shift (ΔΦ), and lock-in frequency (ω), and demonstrate that such a strategy can circumvent the limitation of the conventional fluorescence detection techniques. Together, these five physical quantities (I, λ, A, ΔΦ, ω) reveal insightful information regarding molecular interactive strength between the probe and the analyte and enable extracting weak-fluorescence spectra from large interfering noises in complex environments.

Application of a photochromic dye in an automatic welding filter

The main purposes of this study were to select a photochromic dye and to develop an active welding filter with a photochromic layer. A series of functionalized spirobenzopyranoindolins were synthesized and their photophysical and photochemical properties were investigated in a solution using absorption and emission spectroscopy. Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy measurements were used to characterize the decays and rate constants of fluorescence emission. One dye was selected as a suitable photoactive compound in automatic welding filters. A model of an active welding filter with a photochromic layer based on 1',3',3'-trimethyl-6-nitrospiro[2H-1-benzopyran-2,2'-indole] (6-nitroBIPS) was developed. The paper presents the results of tests of the filter conducted according to EN standards.

Synthesis and properties of benzophenone-spiropyran and naphthalene-spiropyran conjugates

We have designed and synthesized four compounds integrating luminescent and photochromic components in their molecular skeletons. Two of them combine a nitrospiropyran photochrome with either one or two naphthalene fluorophores and can be prepared in three synthetic steps. The other two consist of a nitrospiropyran photochrome and a benzophenone phosphore connected by either ether or ester linkages and can be prepared in six or five, respectively, synthetic steps. The luminescent components of these assemblies are expected to transfer energy intramolecularly to the photochromic species upon excitation and encourage their photoisomerization. Consistently, the phosphorescence of the benzophenone units and the fluorescence of the naphthalene components are effectively quenched when these species are connected covalently to a nitrospiropyran. Nonetheless, the photoisomerization of the photochrome becomes significantly less efficient after the covalent attachment to the luminescent partner. The fraction of incident radiations absorbed by either the benzophenone or the naphthalene fragment does not promote the isomerization of the photochromic appendage. Instead, irreversible transformations occur upon irradiation of the luminophore-photochrome assemblies. Thus, the covalent attachment of a benzophenone or a naphthalene to a nitrospiropyran is not a viable strategy to improve the photocoloration efficiency of the photochromic component. Even although the very same luminophores are known to sensitize intermolecularly the isomerization of nitrospiropyrans, the transition to covalent luminophore-photochrome assemblies tends to promote degradation, rather than sensitization, upon irradiation.

Opening a Spiropyran Ring by Way of an Exciplex Intermediate

A molecular dyad has been synthesized in which the main chromophore is a 1,4-diethynylated benzene residue terminated with pyrene moieties, this latter unit acting as a single chromophore. A spiropyran group has been condensed to the central phenylene ring so as to position a weak electron donor close to the pyrene unit. Illumination of the pyrene-based chromophore leads to formation of a fluorescent exciplex in polar solvents but pyrene-like fluorescence is observed in nonpolar solvents. The exciplex has a lifetime of a few nanoseconds and undergoes intersystem crossing to the pyrene-like triplet state with low efficiency. Attaching a 4-nitrobenzene group to the open end of the spiropyran unit creates a new route for decay of the exciplex whereby the triplet state of the spiropyran is formed. Nonradiative decay of this latter species results in ring opening to form the corresponding merocyanine species. Rate constants for the various steps have been obtained from time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy carried out over a modest temperature range. Under visible light illumination, the merocyanine form reverts to the original spiropyran geometry so that the cycle is closed. Energy transfer from the pyrene chromophore to the merocyanine unit leads to an increased rate of ring closure and serves to push the steady-state composition in favor of the spiropyran form.

Optical Gain from the Open Form of a Photochromic Molecule in the Solid State

This work presents evidence for line-narrowing from the UV photoexcited open form of the photochromic molecule, indolinospiropyran (1',3'-dihydro-1',3',3'-trimethyl-6-nitrospiro [2H-1-benzopyran-2,2'-(2H)-indole]) in the solid state. The line-narrowing is attributable to amplified spontaneous emission induced by optical gain and assisted by the waveguiding within the organic film. Optical gain throughout a band as large as 28 nm, with a maximum gain coefficient of 5.6 cm(-1), is observed in the merocyanine emission region (660-730 nm). These results open the way to the realization of hybrid devices based on the coupling between photochromic behavior and stimulated emission from conjugated molecules, such as lasing optical memories, and lasers gated by optical molecular switches.

Fast and Stable Photochromic Oxazines

We have designed and synthesized two photochromic compounds incorporating fused indoline and benzooxazine fragments. Variable-temperature 1H NMR spectroscopy demonstrates that their central [1,3]oxazine ring opens thermally with free energy barriers ranging from 14 to 19 kcal mol(-1). The ring-opened species reverts rapidly to the original isomer and can only be detected after chemical trapping. Specifically, the nucleophilic attack of a hydroxide anion to the indolium cation of the ring-opened species prevents re-isomerization. Laser excitation of both compounds induces the opening of the [1,3]oxazine ring in less than 6 ns with quantum yields up to 0.1. The photoinduced ring opening generates a 4-nitrophenolate chromophore, which absorbs strongly at 440 nm. The photogenerated species reverts to the original form with a lifetime of 22 ns for both compounds. Thus, these transformations can be exploited to interconvert the two isomers of each species with nanosecond switching speeds. Furthermore, thousands of switching cycles can be repeated consecutively without any sign of degradation, even in the presence of molecular oxygen. These processes can be reproduced efficiently in poly(methyl methacrylate) matrixes. Under these conditions, the thermal re-isomerization occurs with biexponential kinetics in submillisecond time scales. In principle, the fast isomerization kinetics and excellent fatigue resistance of both compounds offer the opportunity to modulate rapidly and efficiently a variety of molecular and macroscopic properties. Thus, our molecular design can evolve into the realization of a new family of photochromic compounds and materials with promising photoresponsive character.

A Fast and Stable Photochromic Switch Based on the Opening and Closing of an Oxazine Ring

[reaction: see text] We have designed a molecular switch based on the photoinduced opening and thermal closing of an oxazine ring. Ultraviolet excitation of this molecule induces the cleavage of a [C-O] bond to form a p-nitrophenolate chromophore in less than 10 ns with a quantum yield of ca. 0.1. The photogenerated isomer reverts thermally to the original oxazine within 50 ns. Our photochromic switch survives more than 3000 excitation cycles without decomposing, even in air-saturated solutions.