ABSTRACT
Fulgimides and their parent fulgides constitute a class of thermally irreversible photochromic compounds. eir derivatives are interesting building blocks for both material and life sciences, for example, for the switching of functions and the development of novel devices. e early work on fulgides in particular was directed toward memory devices, and they are still considered to be promising candidates for photon-controlled memory media. Fulgides and their derivatives as well as their applications have been the subject of various comprehensive reviews covering the literature up to 2004.1-4 In this chapter, we will discuss structure-property relationships observed over the years for furyl-, thienyl-, oxazolyl-, pyrryl-, 2-indolyl-, and 3-indolylfulgides and their fulgimide derivatives. e preferred notations furylfulgide, pyrrylfulgide, etc., will be used in this chapter. However, for a search of the published literature, the reader should also refer to the notations furyl fulgide, pyrryl fulgide, etc. Research toward applications in nanotechnology and biosensor technology is also covered, as well as synthetic methods for the preparation of fulgimides and recent advances in the preparation of their parent fulgides.
