Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Figure 2b). Crystals of 3 showed similar bending motion under
This work was financially supported by Ministry of Science and
irradiation. However, the movement was slower than that of 2, and
the reverse cis-to-trans process was not spontaneous, but required
irradiation at 445 nm. These phenomena were attributed to the
presence of intermolecular π-π interactions at the terminal
azobenzene group (the partially restricted aromatic ring A in Figure
2c).
Technology Taiwan and Frontier Research Center on Fundamental
and Applied Sciences of Matters at National Tsing Hua University.
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The pseudorotaxane crystals comprise photoresponsive
azobenzene and ferrocenyl groups. Combining axle and ring
molecules with different substituents can modify the chemical
structure of the pseudorotaxanes, providing structural diversity.
The mechanical motion induced in each crystal by reversible cis-
trans photoisomerization is unique. Significant differences are
produced by the molecular structure and packing of the crystals,
which were revealed using single-crystal X-ray crystallography in
this study. The bending of the crystals can be assisted by the ring
molecule of pseudorotaxanes, which provide adjustability of
molecular structural change, resulting in a degree of flexibility of
the mechanical motion of the crystals. The crystals underwent cis-
to-trans reversal within 0.3 sec. Generally, azobenzene derivatives
exhibit fast forward change and slow reversal.25,27 This may be due
to the ferrocenyl group, which exhibits absorption at 445 nm,
enhancing the rate of cis-to-trans isomerization and producing the
characteristic “slow upward/fast downward” movement of the
crystals.
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We expect these unique dynamic crystals, composed of
interlocked molecules, to have applications as molecular actuators
or as switches in photoresponsive mechanical devices.
Pseudorotaxane 1 exhibited high-speed bending (0.3 sec for 1
cycle) with a small displacement, suggesting potential applications
in on/off current switching in electric circuits.17,28 Pseudorotaxane
2, with the flexibility provided by its Me-substituent on the
azobenzene group, exhibited spontaneous reversal of bending. This
would simplify the design of systems using on/off laser switching
at a single wavelength. Pseudorotaxane 3, which has tetrabromo-
substituents on DB24C8, exhibited the greatest bending under
photoirradiation. The cis-form was static at room temperature
unless additional stimuli were applied. These crystals may have
applications in multiple-state switches controlled by lasers of
different wavelengths.
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
Supporting Information
The Supporting Information is available free of charge on the ACS
Publications website.
Experimental details (PDF), crystal information files (CIF), movie
(mp4)
(25)Guo, S.; Matsukawa, K.; Miyata, T.; Okubo, T.; Kuroda, K.;
Shimojima, A. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 15434.
(26)Koshima, H.; Ojima, N.; Uchimoto, H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131,
6890.
(27)Taniguchi, T.; Fujisawa, J.; Shiro, M.; Koshima, H.; Asahi, T. Chem.
Eur. J. 2016, 22, 7950.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
(28)Kitagawa, D.; Kobatake, S. Chem. Commun. 2015, 51, 4421.
ORCID
Masaki Horie: 0000-0002-7734-5694
Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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