This review highlights the recent research progress on diarylethene-based multi-responsive molecular switches with special emphasis on the modulation of their photophysical properties by multiple external stimuli.

A novel photochromic diarylethene with a salicylidene Schiff base substituent has been synthesized and characterized. The diarylethene could be used as a multi-addressable fluorescence switch when triggered by light, protons and metal ions. As a result, two logic circuits were constructed with the unimolecular platform by using the fluorescence intensity at different wavelengths as outputs and appropriate combinational stimuli of UV/Vis light, TEA/TFA, and Al(III)/EDTA as inputs. Moreover, the diarylethene derivative was found to be highly selective towards Al(III) with significant color and fluorescence changes for potential applications as colorimetric fluorescent chemosensors.