Design of Azobenzene beyond Simple On–Off Behavior

Azobenzenes are without a doubt the most widely used light-induced switching units, and there is a plethora of application examples ranging from supramolecular chemistry to material science and biological chemistry. Here, we present a smart azobenzene, in which the photoswitching capability of the azobenzene moiety can be reversibly switched on and off using a second unit (redox switch). This second switching unit is based on the variation of the strength of a chalcogen bond between the azo group and a Te-Ph unit in ortho position to the azo group. This allows the selective switching of only one azobenzene unit in the presence of other azobenzene switches. The entire double-switch is a very simple, small system that can also be easily synthesized. As a result, this double-switch can be used as a smarter replacement for the established azobenzene system in the future. For example, in contrast to the latter this double-switch could be employed to store state information analogous to a flip-flop in digital electronic systems.