Photochromic four-coordinate N,C-chelate boron compounds

Four-coordinate organoboron compounds with a N,C-chelate backbone have been found recently to display an unusual photoisomerization phenomenon with a distinct change of color. The photoisomerization process is thermally reversible, enabling the potential use of this class of compounds as a new class of photo-responsive materials. This review provides an account of our recent investigation on the effect of substitution, pi-conjugation and metal chelation on the photoisomerization process of the N,C-chelate organoboron compounds. The photoisomerization phenomenon of azobenzene-based organoboron compounds will also be presented. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.