title: Design and synthesis of a photoswitchable guanidine catalyst.
abstract: A novel design as well as a straight-forward synthesis for a photoswitchable guanidine catalyst is reported. Intense studies of the photochromic properties demonstrated the reversible switchability of its photosensitive azobenzene moiety. Its activity in the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of rac-lactide was investigated as well. The obtained results are discussed, and an additional guanidine was synthesized and utilized in the ROP of rac-lactide in order to explain the findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Viehmann
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hecht