Ad esigned bis(dithienyl) dicyanoethene-based, strictly E/Z photoswitch( 4TCE) operates through stateselective (E and Zi somer) photoactivation with visible light. The Ea nd Zi somers of 4TCE exhibit remarkably different spectroscopic characteristics,i ncluding al arge separation (70 nm) in their absorption maxima (l max )a nd a2 .5-fold increase in molar extinction coefficient from cis to trans.T he energetically stable trans form can be completely converted to the cis form within minutes when exposed to white light, whereas the reverse isomerization occurs readily upon irradiation by blue light (l < 480 nm) or completely by thermal conversion at elevated temperatures.T hese features together with excellent thermal stability and photostability of both isomers make this new E/Z photoswitchapromising building blockf or photoswitchable materials that operate without the need for UV light.Photochromic molecules have attracted substantial research interest because of their promising applications to biomolecules,e nergy management, information storage,a nd nanotechnology. [1] Molecule-based photochromism can be realized either by reversible E/Z photoisomerization or photocyclization reactions ( Figure 1). [2] Only one of these mechanisms should be operative for ap hotoswitch so as to avoid having more than the two essential switching states ("on" and "off") in agiven application.Photoswitching through E/Z photoisomerization is exemplified by azobenzene and its derivatives [3] (Figure 1, Pathway 1). Azo compounds undergo large-scale structural changes from their more stable trans form to their cis form upon irradiation with UV light;t his process can be reversed thermally or through irradiation with blue light. These compounds have been widely used as photoswitches for organic electronics, [4] energy conversion, [5] and photocontrol of biological systems, [6] yet their applications are limited somewhat by two intrinsic drawbacks:1 )possible UVinduced photodamage of other moieties attached to the azo group, [7] and 2) overlap between n-p*b ands of the two isomers leading to low conversion yield (F Z!E = 53 %a nd F E!Z = 24 %). [8] Introducing electron-donating groups at the ortho or para positions of the phenyl rings can effectively redshift the spectrum, while adjusting energy levels of norbitals by attaching proper groups at the ortho positions can increase splitting of n-p*b ands of both isomers. [2,7,9] However,t hese modifications usually require ac omplicated synthesis and in some cases cause ad istortion of the coplanar trans form, which decreases desirable p conjugation and solid-state packing. [2] These drawbacks could be avoided with "nonazo" E/Z photoswitches,yet surprisingly little effort has been devoted to developing such visible-light-triggered, highly photoconvertible switches that are readily synthesized using simple reactions.In principle,d iarylethenes hold promise as alternative, "non-azo" E/Z photoswitches. [10] Thef irst reported diarylethene that showed reversible photochromism was cis-1,2dicya...