Synthesis a New Photochromic Diarylethene for Electrochemical Switching and Holographic Optical Recording

A novel unsymmetrical photochromic diarylethene, 1-[2-methyl-5-(4-methylphenyl)-3-thienyl]-2-[2-methyl-5-(4-formylphenyl)-3-thienyl] perfluoroyclopentene(1a), was synthesized, its photochromic properties and electrochemical properties were examined, the result indicated that the colorless open-ring isomers were assigned to the exclusive oxidation process, but the closed-ring isomers of these compounds were assigned to two redoxation processes and the peaks shift are obvious. Using diarylethene 1b/PMMA film as recording medium and a He-Ne laser (633 nm) for recording and readout, four types of holographic optical recording were performed perfectly. the results demonstrated that the orthogonal circular polarization recording is the best method for polarization holographic optical recording when this compound was used as recording material.