- Previous Article
- Next Article
- Table of Contents
Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.431, 581-586, 2005
Photocurrent generation of diarylethene polymers
The combination of photochromism and electrical properties in diarylethene (DA) polymers were investigated. Photoswitching function could be introduced into a polymer by incorporating 2,3-bis(2-methylbenzo[b]thiophene-3-yl)hexafluorocyclopentene (BTF) unit plus p-phenylene vinylene (PPV) unit alternatively. The photochromic film of BTF-PPV polymer become dark colored upon exposure to a UV light because pi-conjugation delocalizes between the pi-conjugative groups and the new absorption band centered at 570nm was observed from the colored film. In dark the photochromic electrode coated with BTF-PPV copolymer did not show current generation. Upon exposure to UV, large incident photon-to-current generation was observed with the quinone1hydroquinone carrier couple under a bias potential of 165mV (vs. AglAgCl). By optical modulation, a reversible photocurrent generation was observed from the photochromic electrode. On the otherhands, DA polymers derived from 2,3-bis(2-methyl-3-thienyl)hexafluorocyclopentene (TF) and PPV showed no photocurrent generation, indicating photodecomposition of the closed isomer.
Keywords:diarylethene;electrochemical properties;modulation;photochromic;photocurrent;photoswitching