ORGANIC
CHEMISTRY DIVISION
COMMISSION ON PHOTOCHEMISTRY
Organic photochromism (IUPAC Technical Report)
Henri Bouas-Laurent1 and Heinz Dürr2
1Laboratoire de Chimie Organique et Organométallique,
Groupe de Photochimie Organique, CNRS, UMR 5802, Université Bordeaux
1, F-33405 Talence Cedex, France; 2FR 11.2 Organische Chemie, Universität
des Saarlandes, Postfach 151150, D-66041 Saarbrücken, Germany
Abstract: This technical report is a general introduction
to organic photochromism. The definition of photochromism (PC) is given
together with that of words with the ending "chromism", such
as thermo-, electro-, piezo-, and tribochromism. Important concepts
such as two-photon, gated, dual-mode PC and chirochromism are illustrated.
The concept of fatigue (chemical degradation) and the determination
of the main photochromic parameters (number of cycles, cyclability,
half-life), and the spectrokinetic and mechanistic aspects are discussed.
The main families of PC (organic compounds and biological receptors)
are illustrated with chemical formulae, and the different types of reactions
involved in the photochromic processes (pericyclic reactions, E/Z
isomerization, group transfer, etc.) are listed. Some examples of applications
to "optical power limiting" substances, photoresponsive materials,
and photoswitchable biomaterials are considered.
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