Photochromic and electrochromic properties of a viologen-based multifunctional Cd-MOF

A pair of novel multifunctional MOF materials [Cd2(L)2(D/L-Lm)(H2O)2]·5H2O (denoted as D/L-Cd-MOF) has been synthesized by combining the viologen-functionalized ligand H2L+Cl- and chiral D/L-tartaric acid (H2Lm) with a simple solvothermal method. Due to the unique photoelectric response properties of the viologen units, reversible photochromic and electrochromic properties have been combined in D/L-Cd-MOF, which points to a new way of designing and constructing multifunctional photoelectric materials.