Photoswitching of bisthienylethene using 2D-π-A type pyran-based fluorescent dye for rewritable optical storage

The photoswitching of photochromic bisthienylethene mixed electron donor-it-accepter (2D-pi-A) type fluorescent dye with appropriate doping ratio was constructed, which showed excellent fluorescence switch on and off when the photochromic bisthienylethene undergoes ring-opening and ring-closed photoisomerization with UV and visible-light irradiation in solution and PMMA film. The erasable and rewritable photo-images on the photochromic bisthienylethene mixed 2D-pi-A type fluorescent dye in PMMA were successfully demonstrated, which will provide a simple and viable method for optical data storage based photochromic fluorescent materials. These developments are crucial for fundamental research and eventual technical application for all-photo mode high-density optical data storage. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.