Analytical and separation chemistry by taking advantage of organic photochromism combined with macrocyclic chemistry.

Photochromic crown compounds, such as monomeric and polymeric crown compounds incorporating spirobenzopyran, spironaphthooxazine, spirobenzothiapyran, Malachite Green, and Crystal Violet moieties, were synthesized for applications in the fields of analytical and separation chemistry. The photochromic crown compounds, especially crowned spirobenzopyran derivatives, were applied to metal ion extraction, extraction spectrophotometry, membrane transport, and ion chromatography, the sensitivity and selectivity of which were controlled and enhanced photochemically. Also, micelles and vesicles containing lipophilic crowned spirobenzopyrans and Malachite Greens were tested for their usefulness in spectrophotometric and fluorometric metal-ion determination and photocontrol of organic substance in aqueous systems. The polymeric crowned spirobenzopyrans were tried to use as a photochemical valve based on photochemical rheology changes. Moreover, attempts were made to directly observe photoinduced aggregation of the spirobenzopyran moiety and photoresponsive rheology changes of the polymeric crowned spirobenzopyran, by using chemical force microscopy.