Abstract
<jats:p>Hydrazone-based molecular photoswitches have emerged as one of the most promising classes of light-responsive systems, particularly owing to their straightforward synthesis and broad structural tunability. However, only a limited number of hydrazone motifs combine efficient and stable photoswitching with absorption beyond 360 nm, a prerequisite for many emerging optical technologies and biological applications. Furthermore, the photochromic properties of hydrazones are often highly sensitive to structural modifications, making rational tuning challenging. Herein, we report a family of quinoline-containing triarylhydrazone (triaryl-HZ) photoswitches that exhibit absorption in the UV region above 365 nm. The prepared photoswitches display well-separated absorption bands (approximately 60 nm), minimizing spectral overlap between the switching states and enabling high photoconversions. Designed triaryl-HZs allow versatile structural modifications on both phenyl rings, with only a minor influence on their photochromic behavior. These results identify quinoline-based triaryl-HZs as a versatile platform for the development of robust and spectrally addressable molecular photoswitches.</jats:p>