Substituent-modulated organic single crystals with a rapid natural light photomechanical response

Light-driven organic molecular crystalline materials demonstrate promising potential in microrobotics, photo-switches, and photoactuators. In this work, we developed three α-cyanostilbene derivatives with substituents <i>via</i> the Knoevenagel condensation reaction. Systematic substituent modulation enabled optimization of both the crystal morphology and photomechanical responses. These crystals exhibit significantly fast response kinetics in air and water.