A prominent bathochromic shift effect of indole-containing diarylethene derivatives

The potential implication of photochromic materials with absorption and reactivity in the near-infrared region is far-reaching. In this work, three novel bisindole-containing diarylethene derivatives 1o–3o have been successfully synthesized and their photochromic behaviour exhibits a strong bathochromic shift effect compared with bisbenzothiophene diarylethene 4o. These new bisindole-diarylethene compounds 1o–3o are highly sensitive to photo-stimuli both in solution and in poly(methyl methacrylate) films. Besides, 1o–3o exhibit an excellent reversible fluorescence switching behavior modulated by optical stimuli.