Reconfigurable cascade circuit in a photo- and chemical-switchable fluorescent diarylethene derivative

A new unsymmetric diarylethene derivative 1-{4-(5-methoxy-2-(2-pyridyl)thiazolyl)}-2-{3-(2-methylbenzo-[b]thiophenyl)}hexafluorocyclopentene (1) was designed and synthesized. Fluorescence behaviors of I are multiswitched through protonation, coordination, and photochemical reactions due to the existence of multiple binding sites. Thus, the cooperation of chemical and optical input signals cascades several fundamental logic gates within the open form (1O) or closed form (1C) of 1, and the logic functions in 1O and 1C are reversible with photo-switch. Furthermore, photo-switch reversibly reconfigures logic functions from an INHIBIT logic gate (1C) to a half-subtractor (1O).