Synthesis and Application of 1-(3, 5-dimethyl-4-isoxazolyl)-2-{2-methyl-5-[4-(1,3-dioxolane)-phenyl] -3-thienyl} Perfluorocyclopentene

A new unsymmetrical photochromic diarylethene 1(3,5-dimethyl-4-isoxazolyl)-2-{2-methyl-5-[4-(1,3-dioxolane)phenyl]-3-thienyl}perfluorocyclopentene (1o) has been synthesized. Its properties have been discussed systematically, including photochromic, fluorescence switch and kinetics experiments in acetonitrile solution. The result indicated that this diarylethene had good thermal stability and exhibited reversible photochromism, changing the color from colorless to pink in acetonitrile solution upon appropriate irradiation with 297 nm UV light, respectively. What is more, the kinetic experiments illustrated that the cyclization/cycloreversion process of this compound was determined to be the zeroth/first reaction. The fluorescence intensity of diarylethene decreased dramatically along with the photochromism from open-ring isomer to closed-ring isomer upon irradiation with UV light in acetonitrile solution. Keywords-diarylethene; photochromic; fluorescence; kinetics