Enlightening Materials with Photoswitches

Incorporating molecular photoswitches into various materials provides unique opportunities for controlling their properties and functions with high spatiotemporal resolution using remote optical stimuli. The great and largely still untapped potential of these photoresponsive systems has not yet been fully exploited due to the fundamental challenges in harnessing geometrical and electronic changes on the molecular level to modulate macroscopic and bulk material properties. Herein, progress made during the past decade in the field of photoswitchable materials is highlighted. After pointing to some general design principles, materials with an increasing order of the integrated photoswitchable units are discussed, spanning the range from amorphous settings over surfaces/interfaces and supramolecular ensembles, to liquid crystalline and crystalline phases. Finally, some potential future directions are pointed out in the conclusion. In view of the exciting recent achievements in the field, the future emergence and further development of light‐driven and optically programmable (inter)active materials and systems are eagerly anticipated. Controlling material properties with light is key for the development of optical technologies. In this context, molecular photoswitches have become powerful tools to induce structural changes, which can be translated and amplified to the macroscopic materials and device level. The implementation of photoswitches into a variety of materials, ranging from amorphous to crystalline, and their multifaceted operating principles are reviewed.