Two-colour light activated covalent bond formation.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35618722.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-30002-6 and PMC identifier 9135712.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
We introduce a photochemical bond forming system, where two colours of light are required to trigger covalent bond formation. Specifically, we exploit a visible light cis/trans isomerization of chlorinated azobenzene, which can only undergo reaction with a photochemically generated ketene in its cis state. Detailed photophysical mapping of the reaction efficiencies at a wide range of monochromatic wavelengths revealed the optimum irradiation conditions. Subsequent small molecule and polymer ligation experiments illustrated that only the application of both colours of light affords the reaction product. We further extend the functionality to a photo reversible ketene moiety and translate the concept into material science. The presented reaction system holds promise to be employed as a two-colour resist.