The use of azobenzenes as photoswitchable catalysts has inspired the development of numerous light-controlled ligands for transition metals. The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient multi-step synthesis of novel divalent azobenzene ligands that—upon metal coordination—can be used to control reactions with light. Two different salophen azobenzene ligands (Figure 1) were proposed, and their photoswitching abilities were investigated using UV spectroscopy. This study has resulted in the successful synthesis of both ligands <b>1</b> and <b>2</b>, which exhibit satisfactory photoswitching abilities between the cis and trans isomers, upon irradiation by different wavelengths of light.

Synthesis and characterization of divalent ligands with photoswitching capabilities

249th National Meeting (2015)

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