Photochromic bisthienylethene as multi-function switches

Bisthienylethenes (BTEs) are one of the most promising families of photochromic compounds because of their fatigue resistance and thermally irreversible properties for use in optoelectronic devices such as ultrahigh-density optical data storage, molecular switches, logic gates, molecular wires, sensors, and so on. This article describes recent development of switchable photochromic bisthienylethene materials, especially multi-switchable bisthienylethene materials including multi-color photochromic materials, multi-switchable organogelators and liquid crystals. We also highlight our recent contributions in this field.