A perfluorocyclopentene based diarylethene bearing two terpyridine moieties – synthesis, photochemical properties and influence of transition metal ions

• Falk Wehmeier and
• Jochen Mattay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2010, 6, No. 53, doi:10.3762/bjoc.6.53

• ), Co(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II). The UV–vis-spectra of the iron(II) complex [Fe2+@10a], obtained by reaction of 10a with ferric chloride tetrahydrate, are shown in Figure 4. Apart from the expected bathochromic shift of the UV-bands of the ligand [18], an MLCT band at λ = 570 nm was observed. While the UV

• absorption decreases upon UV-irradiation, no significant change of the absorption in the visible region occurred. This indicates inhibition of the photochromic reaction of the diarylethene by the MLCT transition, as previously reported for other iron(II) complexes of bisterpyridine thienylethenes [10]. In

• contrast to the iron(II) complex, the ditopic ligand seems to retain its photochromic properties in the cobalt(II) and nickel(II) complexes – synthesized from CoCl2 and [Ni(acac)2], respectively – although the photocyclisation takes much longer than with free 10a (about 5 minutes compared to ca. 30 seconds