Functional Polyimides based on diamine containing diarylethylene moieties and their photochromic mechanism studies

To expand the existing application conditions of photochromic polymers and enhance the tolerance of photochromic polymer electronic devices in extreme environments, a diamine monomer DTEDA bearing diarylethylene (DTE) moiety was synthesized and polymerized with commercially available dianhydride to afford three polyimides (PIs, named DTEODPI、DTE6FPI, and DTEHPMPI) through chemical imidization. These PIs realized reversible photo-triggered isomerization both in solution and film state, with solution photoluminescence “on/off” effects. Semi-aromatic DTEHPMPI had the largest contrast of color and fastest light response due to its local excited (LE) state. The research provides a simple method to prepare photochromic polymer materials with excellent comprehensive properties.