Optical and thermal propertiesd of photochromic fluorinated adamantylidene indolylfulgides

摘要

Fluorinated indolylfulgides are a class of photochromic organic compounds with potential applications in the areas of optical memory and optical switches. Absorption spectra, quantum yields, and thermal stability have been measured for a series of fluorinated adamantylidene indolyflulgides. The cyclizble form of the trifluoromethyl-substituted 5-methoxy-1,2-dimethylindolyfulgide displays the longerst absorbance maxima reported for the fulgide family. The thermal stability of the cyclizable form of the fluorinated adamantylidene indolylfulgides was greater than that of their corresponding fluorinated isopropylidene analogs, as expected based upon the mechanism of decomposition for isopropylidene analogs. The pentafluoroethyl-substituted adamantylidene indolylfulgide showed only a 27% loss in absorbance after 5 weeks at 80 deg C in a poly(methylmethacrylate) film. These studies have highlighted the rational design of a thermally stable cyclizable form for fluorinated indolylfulgides.