Azobenzenes have many faces. They are well-known as dyes, but most of all, azobenzenes are versatile photoswitchable molecules with powerful photochemical properties. Azobenzene photochemistry has been extensively studied for decades, but only relatively recently research has taken a steer towards applications, ranging from photonics and robotics to photobiology. In this perspective, after an overview of the recent trends in the molecular design of azobenzenes, we highlight three research areas where the azobenzene photoswitches may bring about promising technological innovations: chemical sensing, organic transistors, and cell signaling. Ingenious molecular designs have enabled versatile control of azobenzene photochemical properties, which has in turn facilitated the development of chemical sensors and photoswitchable organic transistors. Finally, the power of azobenzenes in biology is exemplified by vision restoration and photactivation of neural signaling. Although the selected examples reveal only some of the faces of azobenzenes, we expect the fields presented to develop rapidly in the near future, and that azobenzenes will play a central role in this development.

偶氮苯有很多方面。它们以染料而闻名，但最重要的是，偶氮苯是具有强大光化学性质的多功能光可切换分子。偶氮苯光化学已经被广泛研究了几十年，但直到最近，研究才开始转向应用，从光子学和机器人学到光生物学。从这个角度来看，在概述了偶氮苯分子设计的最新趋势之后，我们重点介绍了偶氮苯光电开关可能带来有前景的技术创新的三个研究领域：化学传感、有机晶体管和细胞信号传导。巧妙的分子设计使对偶氮苯光化学性质的多功能控制成为可能，这反过来又促进了化学传感器和光可切换有机晶体管的发展。最后，偶氮苯在生物学中的作用体现在视觉恢复和神经信号的光激活。虽然选定的例子只揭示了偶氮苯的一些面貌，但我们预计所展示的领域将在不久的将来迅速发展，偶氮苯将在这一发展中发挥核心作用。