Pauline Liesfeld

Abstract We present a strategy to achieve highly cooperative photoswitching, where the initial switching event greatly facilitates subsequent switching of the neighboring unit. By linking donor/acceptor substituted dihydropyrenes via suitable π‐conjugated bridges, the quantum yield of the second photochemical ring‐opening process could be enhanced by more than two orders of magnitude as compared to the first ring‐opening.

The use of low-intensity NIR light to operate molecular switches offers several potential advantages including enhanced penetration into bulk materials, in particular biological tissues, and reduced radiation damage due to the limited photon energies. The latter, however, pose a challenge for designing reasonably bistable systems.