(E)-Azobenzene is introduced as a suitable chemical actinometer in the visible spectral range (440–540 nm) for photon flux determination of fluidic microphotoreactors or assessing efficiency light photo-induced reactions, its evaluation straightforward without tedious analytics. Photoisomerization quantum yields (ΦE→Z) (E)-azobenzene were accurately determined upon irradiation at several wavele...

A series of new π-conjugated macrocycles (AzoM-n-E, n = 1–3) incorporating azobenzene units have been synthesized by a facile strategy in one-pot reaction. The resultant azobenzene-embedded feature intrinsic photoresponsive behaviors and intriguing supramolecular assembling properties. smallest macrocycle AzoM-1-E with rigid planar conjugated backbone structure is used to prepare the single cry...

Fluorescence photoswitch is becoming increasingly desirable for many applications, but its controllable fabrication still remains challenging yet. In this paper, a new strategy proposed to fabricate fluorescence by harnessing dual roles of albumin proteins as both photochrome carriers and biotemplates fluorophore. As an example, we demonstrated the successful incorporating photochromic diarylet...

Azobenzene is a photo-isomerizing molecule whose end-to-end distance changes upon external illumination. When combined with site-specific reactive groups, it can be used as molecular tweezers to remote-control the structure and function of protein targets. The present study gives a brief overview over the rational design strategies that use an azobenzene-based photoswitchable cross-linker to en...

Azobenzene and its derivatives can undergo reversible trans-cis isomerizations when irradiated with light, making them potential candidates for optically sensitive materials and devices. The adsorption and diffusion of azobenzene on the Cu(110) surface was investigated with a variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The trans-isomer was observed and found to occupy two adsorption geo...

The alpha-helix is a key structural element in a wide range of peptides and proteins. We report here the design, synthesis, and characterization of a modified peptide in which the helix content can be reversibly photoregulated. The peptide contains two cysteine residues that are cross-linked by an azobenzene derivative in an intramolecular fashion. In accordance with the design, the photoisomer...

The crystal structures of the title compounds, C19H19NO and C31H34N2O, were determined as part of an experiment in an undergraduate teaching laboratory that demonstrates the relationship between mol-ecular structure and function. 1',3',3'-Tri-methyl-spiro-[chromene-2,2'-indoline] is both a photoswitch and thermochromic mol-ecule. Students synthesized it and a bis-indoline adduct and compared th...

A compound combining the features of a molecular rotor and a photoswitch was synthesized and was shown to exist as three diastereomers, which interconvert via a reversible cyclic reaction scheme. Each of the three diastereomers was isolated, and by following the equilibration kinetics, activation barriers for all reactions were calculated. The results indicate that the properties of molecular s...

Submillimetre size self-assemblies composed of oleate and azobenzene derivatives show forceful motions such as screw-type coiling-recoiling motion by photoirradiation.

Quantum chemical calculations of various azobenzene (AB) derivatives have been carried out with the goal to describe the energetics and kinetics of their thermal cis --> trans isomerization. The effects of substituents, in particular their type, number, and positioning, on activation energies have been systematically studied with the ultimate goal to tailor the switching process. Trends observe...