The Versatile Photo-Thermal Behaviour of a 2-Hydroxyazobenzene.

Photochromic compounds are employed in implementing neuron surrogates. They will boost the development of neuromorphic engineering in wetware. In this work, the photochromic behaviours of (E)-3,4,6-trichloro-2-( p -diazenil)-phenol ( t -DZH ) and its conjugated phenoxide base ( t -DZ ) have been investigated experimentally in three different media: (1) pure acetonitrile, (2) in water and acetonitrile mixed in a 1/1 volume ratio, and (3) in an aqueous micellar solution of 3-( N , N -Dimethylmyristylammonio)propanesulfonate (SB3-14). The analysis of the spectral and kinetic features of t -DZH and t -DZ has been supported by quantum-mechanical DFT calculations, the maximum entropy method, and the determination of their colourability (C). The versatility of t -DZH and t -DZ makes them promising molecular probes of micro-environments and potential ingredients of photochemical oscillators required for implementing pacemaker neurons capable of communicating through optical signals in wetware.