Photochromic fluorescence switching from diarylethenes and its applications

The review describes the photochromic and fluorescent characteristics of various diarylethene (DAET) derivatives, and presents recent research into their applications. This comprises a discussion of the optical characteristics of some DAET-based molecules exhibiting red, green, or blue (RGB) colors or fluorescence. Molecular calculations of the optical properties of DAET interpret intriguing experimental observations and predict photochemical or photophysical properties. In particular, stabilization of HOMO in the BTFOn (n = 1, 2, 3, 4) increases the energy difference between the HOMO and the LUMO, which leads to the blue-shift of absorption and emission bands as the number of oxygen attached to sulfur (n) increases. Various devices and application studies have been designed as photon-mode systems based on photochemical control of the fluorescence energy. The photochromic DAET materials have shown promise as optical data storage, switching devices, and biological applications such as the development of biomaterial sensors, analysis of biological dynamics, and live cell imaging.