A New Photochromic Diarylethene for Optical Storage

A new photochromic diarylethene, 1-(2-ethylbenzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)-2-(2-cyanophenyl) perfluorocyclopentene (1o), was synthesized, and its photochromic and fluorescent properties were investigated. This compound exhibited reversible photochromism and fluorescence photoswitches both in solution and in PMMA films. Using diarylethene 1c/PMMA film as recording medium, optical recording was performed successfully.