Design and Synthesis of Leuco Triarylmethane-Containing Transition Metal Complexes and Their Modified Surfaces

Description

Leuco triarylmethanes are hydrophobic, but they undergo photo-dissociation to give the coloured triarylmethyl cations and the counter anions. Compared with other families of photochromic compounds, they produce the most significant changes in the charge distribution in the photo-process; hence they are ideal for surface modification to produce photo-responsive interfacial materials.This project is concerned with the design and synthesis of Leuco triarylmethane compounds and their metal complexes for glass surface modification. These compounds will be subjected to detailed spectroscopic investigation, and their photophysical and photochemical properties will be investigated. The switching between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity of the modified surfaces under various pH conditions or on photo-excitation will be also studied, which should provide insights into the future development of stimuli-responsive smart surfaces.