Measurement of the conformational switching of azobenzenes from the macro- to attomolar scale in self-assembled 2D and 3D nanostructures (original) (raw)

2021, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP

It is important, but challenging, to measure the (photo)induced switching of molecules in different chemical environments, from solution through thin layers to solid bulk crystals. We compare the cis-trans conformational switching of commercial azobenzene molecules in different liquid and solid environments: polar solutions, liquid polymers, 2D nanostructures and 3D crystals. We achieve this goal by using complementary techniques: optical absorption spectroscopy, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy and reflectance spectroscopy, supported by density functional theory calculations. We could observe the same molecule showing fast switching in a few picoseconds, when studied as an isolated molecule in water, or slow switching in tens of minutes, when assembled in 3D crystals. It is worth noting that we could also observe switching for small ensembles of molecules (a few attomoles), representing an intermediate case between single molecules and bu...

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