| Name | Mrs. Arwa Alharbi |
|---|---|
| Organization or Institution | Florida Institute of Technology |
| Topic | Physical Chemistry |
| Title | Theoretical and experimental study of the photoreaction and thermal isomerization of merocyanine photoacid (mPAH) and spiropyran |
| Author(s) | Arwa Alharbi, Clayton Baum, Yi Liao |
| Author Institution(s) | Florida Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The recently discovered metastable-state photoacids (mPAH) can produce a large proton concentration with high efficiency and good reversibility. Most metastable-state photoacids are protonated merocyanines (MEH). Under irradiation, an MEH is converted to acidic spiropyran (SP). However, conversion between MEH and SP can also occur thermally at different pH. A series of molecules have been synthesized to study the thermal equilibrium and kinetics of ring-opening between MEH and SP. The results of this study explain the reason that the merocyanine photoacid has a stable MEH state and faster reaction rate of ring opening reaction after irradiation while the well-known spiropyran has a stable SP state. |
