Photocontrollable Self-Assembly

The incorporation of photoswitching molecules into molecular building blocks creates the possibility of photoresponsive self‐assemblies in which the self‐assembled architecture or self‐assembling process can be controlled by external light stimulus. Among the photoswitching molecules, azobenzene has been used most widely by virtue of the large photoinduced changes in its molecular geometry and physical properties. This article reviews how azobenzene can be effectively used to construct the self‐assemblies in which supramolecular structure and formation/dissociation can be altered by light. A smart supramolecular system may be created by introducing photoswitching molecules into self‐assembling systems. This article reviews self‐assembling systems that contain azobenzene, a reliable photoswitching molecule; the formation and/or dissociation of such self‐assembled supramolecular structures can be controlled by light (an example is illustrated here).