UV Photochromism in Transition Metal Oxides and Hybrid Materials

Limited levels of UV exposure can be beneficial to the human body. However, the UV radiation present in the atmosphere can be damaging if levels of exposure exceed safe limits which depend on the individual the skin color. Hence, UV photochromic materials that respond to UV light by changing their color are powerful tools to sense radiation safety limits. Photochromic materials comprise either organic materials, inorganic transition metal oxides, or a hybrid combination of both. The photochromic behavior largely relies on charge transfer mechanisms and electronic band structures. These factors can be influenced by the structure and morphology, fabrication, composition, hybridization, and preparation of the photochromic materials, among others. Significant challenges are involved in realizing rapid photochromic change, which is repeatable, reversible with low fatigue, and behaving according to the desired application requirements. These challenges also relate to finding the right synergy between the photochromic materials used, the environment it is being used for, and the objectives that need to be achieved. In this review, the principles and applications of photochromic processes for transition metal oxides and hybrid materials, photocatalytic applications, and the outlook in the context of commercialized sensors in this field are presented.

A General Nanocoating Method via Photoinduced Self-Initiation

Hybrid core-shell nanoparticles play a very significant role in many applications. Here, we report a light-induced oligomer coating on nanoparticles via Norrish type I reaction. The radical species generated via UV irradiation can chemically initiate the photoinitiators, which are then polymerized and deposited on inorganic nanoparticles via heterogeneous nucleation, forming a soft oligomer coating smaller than 40 nm. This coating method is versatile and potentially applicable to many different types of inorganic cores and their assemblies, making it a very useful technique for "freezing" nanoassemblies in solution. Moreover, these oligomer coatings containing radical species can also initiate surface polymerization of both styrenic and acrylic monomers with certain functionalities for different applications such as self-assembly, plasmon tuning, and pH sensing (3.5-4.5).

P-Type Photochromism of New Helical Naphthopyrans: Synthesis and Photochemical, Photophysical and Theoretical Study

Two novel helical naphthopyrans have been synthesised. The helical scaffold has the interesting effect of increasing the thermal stability of the transoid-trans (TT) open isomer formed upon UV irradiation of the closed form (CF), which transforms these naphthopyrans from thermal to photochemical photochromes. The photochromic performance is excellent in both polar and apolar solvents and the conversion percentage from the CF to the TT form can be as high as 92.8 %. We propose a new method to determine the quantum yields of the photochemical processes that lead to transoid-cis (TC) and TT isomers, and their molar absorption coefficients. The thermal stability of the TT and TC isomers has been studied in different solvents. The quantum yields of fluorescence before and after irradiation, along with the decay lifetimes, have also been measured. TD-DFT calculations have been performed to determine the relative thermodynamic stability of the species involved in the photochromic mechanism and to rationalise their spectral properties.

Preparation and photochromic properties of layer-by-layer self-assembly films and light-responsive micelles based on amphiphilic naphthopyran derivative

An amphiphilic naphthopyran derivative (DSNP) with negative-charged di-sulfatoethoxy was first designed and synthesized. DSNP was used to prepare the LBL self-assembly films with cationic quaternized poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VPQ). The multilayer assembly process was monitored via UV-Vis spectra and the DSNP displayed a significant slow fading rate in film. In addition, DSNP was also used as the light-responsive group to fabricate light-responsive micelles with polyethylene glycol-triethylamine bromide (PEG-NEt3). The photoisomerization of naphthopyran moieties can rapidly and reversibly tune the disassembly and re-assembly of the micelles. The changes of fluorescent spectra of Nile Red (NR) in water solution of polymeric micelles demonstrated that the polymeric micelle can be used as nanocarriers to encapsulate, release and re-encapsulate guest solutes on demand controlling of light irradiation. The results indicate that the amphiphilic naphthopyran can be used in both optical-switches and biomedical area for drug delivery.