Photochromism of Rhodium Dithionite Complexes

Reaction Dynamics Studies on Crystalline-State Photochromism of Rhodium Dithionite Complexes 487... 

In this chapter, crystalline-state photochromic dynamics of rhodium dithionite complexes are reviewed. The chemistries described here have been achieved not only by recent developments of the analytical technique but also by discovery of a new class of transition-metal based photochromic compounds. One of the advantages of transition-metal complexes is structural diversity. In order to find the rule of an exquisite combination of metal ions and ligands, we are currently synthesizing various dithionite derivatives with other metal ions and/or modified Cp ligands. As shown in this chapter, dithionite complexes are a very useful photochromic system to investigate crystalline-state reaction dynamics. We believe that dynamics studies of newly synthesized dithionite derivatives provide useful insight into the construction of sophisticated molecular switches. A dithionite complex may appear in a practical application field in the near future. 

H. Nakai and K. Isobe, Crystalline-State Photochromism of Rhodium Dinuclear Complexes Having a Dithionite Group and Its Reaction Dynamics , Nippon Kessho Gakkaishi, 2008, 50, 348. 

Crystalline-state photochromism usually proceeds with considerably lower interconversion ratios of less than 15% because the light penetration into the bulk crystal is prohibited by the absorption of the photo-generated isomer (inner-filter effects) [3,4]. The fully reversible crystalline-state photochromism of 1 can be partly attributed to its photochromic property. The rhodium dithionite complex 1 belongs to a unique class of photochromic compounds, which exhibits a unimolecular type T inverse photochromism [13]. The type T inverse photochromism means that the back reaction occurs thermally and the A.max of the absorption spectrum of 1 is longer than that of 2. If the back reaction occurs photochemically and the XmaK of the initial absorption spectrum is shorter than that of the photo-generated isomer, it is called type P positive photochromism and is known as a common photochromic system. 

---