Dynamic handedness inversion of self-organized helical superstructures enabled by novel thermally stable light-driven chiral hydrazone switches

Chiral hydrazone photoswitch features are its high thermal stability and negative photochromy, making it desirable in the fabrication of thermally stable optical device. However, chiral hydrazones capable of reversibly inversing chirality is scarcely reported. Herein, a series of new chiral hydrazone switches, HI-1, HI-2 and HI-3, were designed and synthesized. Due to the photoinduced configuration changes, the newly synthesized hydrazone photoswitch presents a surprising chirality inversion upon light stimulation. Photoisomerization of light-driven hydrazone switch molecules was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra and Raman spectroscopy. The effect of the intramolecular hydrogen bond on photoresponsiveness was analyzed. By incorporating the photoswitch into a liquid crystal (LC) host, light-driven cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) with handedness invertibility, a feasible photonic bandgap tunability, and superior thermal stability were achieved. In addition, according to the optical-driven thermal stability of the hydrazone switches, the fine regulation of light-driven CLC materials with multistage photo stationary states was realized, and the application of CLC materials in erasable and rewritable display panels was also demonstrated.