偶氮苯的光异构反应产生大幅度的分子形变，为光响应性功能材料的开发提供了可行性，进一步地，把分子材料进行器件化是将其性质转化为应用的重要途径。以自组装单分子膜（SAMs）的形式把偶氮苯分子引入到器件中，有助于我们在分子尺度上认识偶氮苯的基本性质，构建光驱动的功能分子器件。本项目拟以分子设计为基础，以器件制备为手段，以功能应用为导向，开展基于偶氮苯SAMs的光电开关和光力学研究。通过分子结构的合理设计，实现SAMs体系中基底与功能单元及相邻功能单元之间的去耦合，获得高响应性的偶氮苯SAMs。基于此，一方面开发高性能的固态光电开关，以解决目前SAMs器件光开关性能普遍较差的问题；另一方面我们将深入到分子尺度探索单个偶氮苯光异构形变对外界产生的作用力大小，即分子光力效应，并首次构建一个分子光力器件——分子升降机。本项目的成功实施将推动分子尺度电子学的实用化，引领分子尺度光力学的发展。

The photoisomerization of azobenzenes leads to large configuration change of the molecules, which provides an avenue for developing light-responsive functional materials and incorporating them into device for practical applications. By using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of azobenzenes as active materials, we can investigate azobenzene properties at the molecular scale and fabricate photo-driven functional molecular devices. Here, we propose to develop optoelectronic switches and explore molecular photomechanics of azobenzene SAMs through efforts in both molecular design and device fabrication. Highly responsive azobenzene SAMs will be obtained by decoupling the intermolecular and substrate-molecule interactions by rational molecular design. On this basis, we will address the issue of generally low photoswitching ability of previously reported azobenzene-SAMs-based devices and develop high-performance solid-state optoelectronic switches. Furthermore, we plan to explore the photoisomerization-generated mechanical force of a single azobenzene molecule, i.e., molecular photomechanical effect, and create a molecular-scale photomechanical device——molecular lifter. Therefore, this project will facilitate the practical applications of molecular-scale electronics and lead the research in molecular-scale photomechanics.