Abstract

Cation chemosensors have gained more and more attention because they possess an important role in the chemical and biological fields. With the functionalization of cation chemosensors, some special groups were introduced into the skeleton of cation chemosensors. Photoswitchable materials can rearrange reversibly between two different forms in response to light. In recent years, photoswitchable cation chemosensors have received the interest of scientists due to their controllability with different light. It means that recognization behaviors for the cations can be regulated upon irradiation with ultraviolet or visible light. In this review, we summarize the recent advances of photoswitchable cation chemosensors. The synthetic strategies to construct different classification photoswitchable cation chemosensors are discussed in detail, the possible mechanism for recognization behaviors is summarized, and the future direction of development for photoswitchable cation chemosensors is predicted.

Keywords: Cation chemosensors, photoswitchable materials, functionalization, dithienylethene, spirooxazines, zobenzene.

Graphical Abstract