A series of 9-anthroate esters that can form photoresponsive molecular crystal nanorods is prepared and their properties are investigated. All crystal structures that can support a [4+ 4] photodimerization reaction lead to nanorods that undergo photomechanical deformations without fragmentation. In order to determine the molecular-level motions that give rise to the nanorod photomechanical response, the reaction of anthracene-9-carboxylic acid tert- ...
