Luminescent silicon nanocrystals appended with photoswitchable azobenzene units

Confinement of multiple azobenzene chromophores covalently linked at the surface of luminescent silicon nanocrystals preserves the photoswitching behavior and modulates the nanocrystal polarity. Concomitantly, the thermal Z → E isomerization is strongly accelerated and the nanocrystal luminescence is reduced by an energy transfer process resulting in photosensitized E → Z isomerization.