Recent advances on the construction of diarylethene-based supramolecular metallacycles and metallacages via coordination-driven self-assembly

During the past few years, the construction of diarylethene (DAE)-based supramolecular metallacycles and metallacages has gained increasing attention due to their distinctive photophysical and photochemical properties and potential applications in magnetic switching, smart soft materials, photodynamic therapy, etc. Surprisingly, no review on the construction of discrete DAE-based supramolecular metallacycles and metallacages via coordination-driven self-assembly has been summarized to the best of our knowledge. Considering the rapid development of this field, it is time to summarize the recent development of the construction of discrete DAE-containing polygons and polyhedra. In this review, the construction of diarylethene-based metallacycles and metallacages via coordination-driven self-assembly is briefly introduced. In addition, the properties and applications of these metallacycles and metallacages are also discussed.