Photoswitching Properties of 5‐Methoxy‐2‐ (2‐phenyldiazenyl) Pyridine

Abstract Heteroaryl azobenzene molecular switches often have superior performance compared to their parent azobenzene derivatives. Herein, we report the efficient photoswitching of phenylazopyridine 5‐methoxy‐2‐(2‐phenyldiazenyl)pyridine using 1 H NMR and UV/vis spectroscopy demonstrating >92 % Z at the photostationary state and a thermal half‐life of 6.3 days at room temperature. Kinetic studies are in good agreement with the DFT predicted isomerization barrier.