Photochromism of a radical diffusion-inhibited hexaarylbiimidazole derivative with intense coloration and fast decoloration performance

Org Lett. 2008 Jul 17;10(14):3105-8. doi: 10.1021/ol801135g. Epub 2008 Jun 19.

Abstract

We report the synthesis and the photochromic behavior of a newly designed, photochromic, radical diffusion-inhibited hexaarylbiimidazole (HABI) derivative with markedly improved photochromic performance in coloration and decoloration rates as well as greater optical density in the colored state. The thermal bleaching rate (tau1/2 = 260 ms at 295 K) is the fastest among the reported ones for HABI derivatives.