Photoinduced Bending Crystals of a Rhodium Dithionite Complex with n-Methoxybutyl Moieties

Abstract

A newly synthesized photochromic rhodium dithionite complex with n-methoxybutyl moieties has been found to provide rod-like millimeter-size crystals exhibiting photoinduced bending; the crystals show an intriguing behavior which the bending and unbending occur upon photoirradiation from the same side of the crystal. The bending mechanism was clarified by single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments.