Organic photoresponsive materials for information storage: a review

Organic photoresponsive materials can undergo various reversible variations in certain physical and chemical properties, such as optical properties, electrochemical properties, conformation, and conductivity, upon photoirradiation. They have been widely applied in various optoelectronic fields, especially in information storage. We summarize research progress on organic photoresponsive materials for information storage. First, the design strategies and photoswitching mechanisms for various kinds of organic photoresponsive materials, including small organic molecules, metal complexes, polymers, supramolecules, and cholesteric liquid crystals, are systematically summarized. These materials exhibit reversible changes of absorption and/or emission properties in response to different wavelengths of light. Subsequently, the applications of these organic materials in information storage, such as data (re)writing and erasing, encryption and decryption, and anticounterfeiting, are introduced in detail. Finally, the current challenges and future directions in this rapidly growing research field are discussed. The review will provide important guidance on the future works about the design of excellent organic photoresponsive materials for optoelectronic applications.