The new photoswitch

A team of scientists from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University, in collaboration with other universities, has developed a new type of photoswitch – a molecule that can be effectively and efficiently controlled by light. Photoswitches have significant applications in areas such as advanced materials and photopharmacology. The new photoswitch belongs to the group of arylhydrazones, known for their exceptional thermal stability and efficiency in photoisomerization. However, the challenge was that previously known switches of this type were not as efficient in the visible light spectrum, which limited their practical use in biological systems. The new design improves efficiency closer to the visible light spectrum above 365 nm, thus opening exciting possibilities for their future applications in light-sensitive technologies.
This work was published in the journal Chemistry – A European Journal, where it was selected as a "hot paper" and also featured on its cover page. More about this work and its authors can be learned from the cover profile released on the journal's website:
https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/chem.202400141

Lukáš F. Pašteka
Dept. of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
@ Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Van Swinderen Institute for Particle Physics and Gravity (VSI)
@ Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, Netherlands