Photoinduced peeling of molecular crystals

Block-like microcrystals composed of cis-dimethyl-2(3-(anthracen-9-yl)allylidene)malonate are grown from aqueous surfactant solutions. A pulse of 405 nm light converts a fraction of molecules to the trans isomer, creating an amorphous mixed layer that peels off the parent crystal. This photoinduced delamination can be repeated multiple times on the same block.