Photochromic reaction of the diarylethene derivative on Au nanoparticles*

Ryoji Takahashi, Satoshi Kaneko, Shintaro Fujii and Manabu Kiguchi

Abstract

We have studied the photochromic reaction of the diarylethene derivative on Au nanoparticles using the incoherent excitation as a function of the wavelength of the irradiation light with the aim to clarify the effect of metal nanoparticles on the reaction yield. The photochemical reaction was suppressed by the Au nanoparticles under the irradiation of light whose wave length was shorter than 700 nm, while photochemical reaction was enhanced by the irradiation of light whose wavelength was longer than 750 nm via two-photon absorption process. The suppression of the photochemical reaction could be explained by the quenching of the excited state via radiative and non-radiative decay through energy or charge transfer to the metal substrate (e.g. electron–hole pair formation, surface plasmon excitation, formation of induced-dipole induced-dipole coupling), and the absorption of light by the Au nanoparticle