Light-driven flagella-like motion of coordination compound single crystals

• Published in: Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) Vol. 59; no. 29; pp. 4384 - 4387
• Main Authors: Ekka, Akansha, Kurakula, Uma, Choudhury, Aditya, Mishra, Anshumika, Faye, Anshul, Halcovitch, Nathan R, Medishetty, Raghavender
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 06.04.2023
• Subjects: Chemical reactions; Coordination compounds; Cycloaddition; Light sources; Single crystals; Solid state; Zinc
• ISSN: 1359-7345; 1364-548X
• DOI: 10.1039/d3cc00333g

Single crystals of coordination complexes that show mechanical motion under the influence of external stimuli are of great interest due to their applications in photoactuators, sensors and probes. The solid-state [2+2] cycloaddition reaction has been one of the most prominent chemical reactions for photoresponsive materials in recent years. However, a relatively limited number of compounds have been reported, and most of these compounds have only shown destructive photosalient effects. Here, we report two photoreactive Zn( ii ) metal complexes with a thiophene-based photoreactive linker, 2tpy (4-(2-(thiophen-2-yl)vinyl)pyridine). In addition, under photoirradiation these complexes showed flagella-like bending, first towards and subsequently away from the excitation light source. This is the first report of metal-complexes and the solid-state [2+2] cycloaddition reaction that presents flagella-like motion in single crystals. Single crystals of coordination complexes that show mechanical motion due to [2+2] cycloadditions have potential applications in photoactuators, sensors and probes.