Abstract Three new asymmetrical naphthalene-containing diarylethenes with different heteroaryl groups have been synthesized to investigate the heteroaryl effects on their properties. The three diarylethenes exhibited distinctive photochromism with good thermal stability, which may be attributed to the different heteroaryl effects. Their cycloreversion quantum yields increased in the order of 2-methylbenzofuran< 2-methylbenzothiophene< ...
