Reversible Quadruple Switching with Optical, Chiroptical, Helicity, and Macropattern in Self‐Assembled Spiropyran Gels

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 27; no. 29
• Main Authors: Miao, Wangen, Wang, Sheng, Liu, Minghua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 04.08.2017
• Subjects: Chirality; chiroptical switches; Circular polarization; Dichroism; Gelation; Gels; Helices; Helicity; Light irradiation; Luminescence; Materials science; Optical properties; optical switches; rewritable materials; Self-assembly; supramolecular chirality; Supramolecular compounds; Switching; Ultraviolet radiation; Xerogels

Enantiomeric glutamate gelators containing a spiropyran moiety are designed and found to self‐assemble into a nanohelix through gelation. Upon alternating UV and visible light irradiation, the spiropyran experiences a reversible change between a blue zwitterionic merocyanine state and a colorless cl...