Visible‐Light‐Induced Morphological Changes of Giant Vesicles by Photoisomerization of a Ruthenium Aqua Complex

Visible‐ and red‐light responsive vesicles were prepared by incorporating a ruthenium aqua complex having two alkyl chains on tridentate and asymmetrical bidentate ligands ( proximal ‐ 2 : [Ru(C 10 tpy)(C 10 pyqu)OH 2 ] 2+ , C 10 tpy=4′‐decyloxy‐2,2′;6′,2“‐terpyridine, C 10 pyqu=2‐[2′‐(6′‐decyloxy)‐pyridyl]quinoline). The ruthenium complex of proximal ‐ 2 with closed alkyl chain geometry and a cylinder‐like molecular shape exhibited photoisomerization to distal ‐ 2 with an open alkyl chain geometry and a cone‐like shape, both in an aqueous solution and in vesicle dispersions. We observed that light irradiation of giant vesicles containing proximal ‐ 2 induced diverse morphological changes.