Functional molecular switches involving tetrapyrrolic macrocycles

Porphyrins and phthalocyanines are well-known colourful compounds, which attract much attention in various fields of science and technology, including the area of molecular switches and machines - an emerging multidisciplinary area, which is expected to provide novel classes of materials for data storage and processing, smart materials with switchable properties, etc. This review is aimed to exemplify various types of switchable systems, based on porphyrins, phthalocyanines and related macrocycles to give the link between the physical-chemical properties of the parent macrocycles, different types of input signals and mechanisms of responses, leading to detectable outputs. Specifically, attention will be paid to switching of properties which are meaningful for practical applications of porphyrinoids - change of optical characteristics, alteration of excited state dynamics, switching between different spin states and tuning of magnetic properties. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.