SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
Spirooxazine- and spiropyran-doped hybrid organic–inorganic matrices with very fast photochromic responses
Abstract
Both spirooxazine and spiropyran dyes have been embedded into two
different hybrid matrices, which were formed from hydrolysis and
cocondensation between diethoxydimethylsilane and zirconium propoxide and
between methyldiethoxysilane (DH) and triethoxysilane (TH) respectively.
The nature and the kinetics of the photochromic response depend strongly
on the hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance (HHB) of the hybrid material. The
HHB controls the competition between direct and reverse photochromism. The
photochromic behaviour of the strongly hydrophobic spirooxazine-doped
DH/TH coatings is direct, highly efficient (ΔA>1),
reversible and extremely fast (thermal bleaching time constant,
k=0.2 s
-1
). The photochromic kinetics of this
hybrid material are, to the best of our knowledge, much faster than those
reported for spirooxazine in any other solid matrix.
- This article is part of the themed collection: Molecular Assemblies and Nanochemistry
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