Fabrication of Stimulus-Responsive Molecular Layer Comprising Anthracene Molecules

Abstract For efficient control of surface properties of materials, the immobilization of functional molecules as a molecular layer is one effective method. Furthermore, stimulus-responsive molecules can provide a strong pathway to develop switchable surface properties. The reversible chemical bond change based on the cycloaddition reaction of anthracene is a useful method to change the outermost surface composition in the laminated molecular layer. Moreover, it exhibits a high degree of freedom in selecting the desired surface properties. Here, we have designed a stimulus-responsive molecular layer with an anthracene derivative for repeated control of surface properties. The switching of covalent bonding of anthracene induced by photodimerization and thermal/photocleavage reactions was introduced to control the composition of the molecular layer. The reversible reaction caused by photoirradiation or heating of the anthracene layer was demonstrated though absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. In addition, the influence on the surface conditions such as contact angle and surface morphology was revealed. The stimulus-responsive surface functions of this material can potentially be applied to the fields of adhesion and friction.