The effect of temperature on the photoacidity of merocyanine photoacids in water

Merocyanine photoacids are molecular photoswitches that can be used to regulate acid-base reactions reversibly. Despite their growing impact across multiple research areas including materials science and nanotechnology, the effect of temperature on their functioning in aqueous environments has not yet been explored. Here we employ variable-temperature pH and UV-Vis analyses to rationalize their temperature-dependent (photo)chemical behaviors in water, showing that their photoacidity is inversely proportional to the temperature (by ca. -0.01 pK/degrees C). (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).