Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.121, No.37, 8450-8456, 1999
Photochromism of 1,2-bis(2-methyl-6-nitro-1-benzothiophen-3-yl) perfluorocyclopentene in a single-crystalline phase: Dichroism of the closed-ring form isomer
1,2-Bis(2-methyl-6-nitro-1-benzothiophen-3-yl)perfluorocyclopentene was found to undergo a reversible photochromic reaction in the single-crystalline phase. Upon irradiation with 366-nm light, the single crystal turned green with keeping the crystal shape. The colored crystal showed dichroism. When the crystal was rotated under polarized light, the color changed from yellow to blue. The yellow and blue colors were attributed to two perpendicular electronic transitions at 465 and 600 nm of the closed-ring form. The two transition moments coincide with the directions of short and long axes of the closed-ring form isomers, which were regularly packed in the crystal lattice.