Synthesis, Photochromism and Photoinduced Anisotropy of a New Photochromic Diarylethene

A new unsymmetrical photochromic diarylethene compound, 1-[2-methyl-5-(3-methoxylphenyl)-3-thienyl]-2-[2-methyl-5-(3-methylphenyl)-3-thienyl]perfluoro -cyclopentene (1a), was synthesized and its photochromism and photo-induced anisotropy were investigated. The compound exhibited good photochromism both in solution and in PMMA film with alternating irradiation by UV/Vis light, and the maxima absorption of its closed-ring isomer (1b) are 582 and 599 nm, respectively. The compound also showed a photoinduced anisotropic phenomenon accompanying the photochromic reaction. Using diarylethene 1b/PMMA film as recording medium and a linearly polarized 650 nm laser diode for recording and readout, polarization multiplexed image recording can be carried out in this film. The results demonstrated that the diarylethene can be potentially used as polarization multiplexing holographic recording medium.