Conductance Photoswitching of Diarylethene−Gold Nanoparticle Network Induced by Photochromic Reaction

The relationship between molecular conductance and molecular structure is an important issue in molecular electronics. Photochromic molecules can interconvert their molecular structures by light, so that the molecular conductance should be photocontrolled. According to this strategy the networks composed of photochromic diarylethene dithiols and gold nanoparticles were prepared, and the photochemical reactivity and photoswitching of the conductance were studied. The networks showed a completely reversible photoswitching of the conductance according to the photochromic reactions of the diarylethene units. The switching behavior is attributed to the change of the π-conjugation length of the molecule. Because of the high switching ratio and good reversibility this switching system opens up the possibility of sophisticated molecular electric circuits.