Synthesis of a New Photochromic ZrO₂ Precursor for Preparation of Functional Thin Films

A new photochromic ZrO2 precursor solution was prepared using zirconium tetra-n-butoxide, 4-(phenylazo)benzoic acid and ethyleneglycol monomethylether. The ZrO2 precursor solution was irradiated with ultraviolet light (UV) at room temperature. After that, UV-irradiated precursor solution was irradiated with visible light (Vis) at room temperature. UV-Vis spectra were measured before irradiation, after UV irradiation and Vis irradiation. Changes of UV-Vis spectra indicated that the new ZrO2 precursor including 4-(phenylazo)benzoic acid shows photochromism. The phenomena have synchronized with reversible photoisomerization of 4-(phenylazo)benzoic acid in the precursor. In addition, the difference of peak position originated from Zr-O CT transition between before UV irradiation and after UV irradiation increased with increasing the concentration of 4-(phenylazo)benzoic acid. Furthermore, the optimized structure of the new ZrO2 precursor was derived by density functional theory (DFT) calculation.