Proton migration in chromic materials as seen by in-situ simultaneous Neutron Diffraction and Raman Spectroscopy

As part of a facility project aimed at developing a new sample environment allowing simultaneous in-situ neutron diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, we propose to study the proton migration in N-(5-chlorosalicylidene)-4-hydroxyaniline and in N-(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)-3-nitroaniline. Both compounds are chromotropic and such behavior is associated with the transfer of a hydrogen atom from the oxygen atom of a phenolic group to a nitrogen atom to produce an enamine. The proton migration occurs either by thermal (thermochromic) or light stimuli (photochromic) and the possibility of studying the structural features and the Raman response at the same time will probe the mechanisms of action in fine details whilst building fundamental knowledge to be used for further calculations on these systems.