Engineering Achiral Liquid Crystalline Polymers for Chiral Self-Recovery

Abstract

Flexible construction of permanently stored supramolecular chirality with stimulus-responsiveness remains a big challenge. Herein, we describe an efficient method to realize the transfer and storage of chirality in intrinsically achiral films of a side-chain polymeric liquid crystal system by combining chiral doping and cross-linking strategy. Even the helical structure was destroyed by UV light irradiation, the memorized chiral information in the covalent network enabled complete self-recovery of the original chiral superstructure. These results allowed the building of a novel chiroptical switch without any additional chiral source in multiple types of liquid crystal polymers, which may be one of the competitive candidates for use in stimulus-responsive chiro-optical devices.

Self-recovery of chiral microphase separation in an achiral diblock copolymer system

“…3c). 41,42,56 Besides, the shoulder peak at 286.3 eV in C 1s X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum disappeared after cross- Please do not adjust margins Please do not adjust margins linking (Fig. S4), which means that the C-OH in polymer terminal had been completely transformed into C-O-C.…”

Chiroptical Generation, Switching, and Long‐Term Memory in Supramolecular Azobenzene‐Pendant Polymer: Regulation by Cellulose Peralkyl Esters, D‐/L‐Glucose Permethyl Esters, Solvents, UV Light Irradiation, and Thermal Annealing Process†

“…[ 20 ] Our group demonstrated that chiral molecules designed newly work as effective dopants in Ch*LCP, allowed for the supramolecular chiroptical induction and long‐term memory. [ 21 ] However, the construction of Ch*LC polymers often requires the use of expensive and/or environmentally unfavorable dopants. In this regard, naturally‐occurring chiral bio‐resources and semi‐synthetic derivatives are promising to afford inexpensive, renewable, and environmentally friendly, and greener chirality inducible scaffolds.…”

Chiroptical Generation, Switching, and Long-Term Memory in Supramolecular Azobenzene-Pendant Polymer: Regulation by Cellulose Peralkyl Esters, D-/L-Glucose Permethyl Esters, Solvents, UV Light Irradiation, and Thermal Annealing Process

“…20 Our group demonstrated that chiral molecules designed newly work as effective dopants in Ch*LCP, allowed for the supramolecular chiroptical induction and long-term memory. 21 However, the construction of Ch*LC polymers often requires the use of expensive and/or environmentally unfavorable dopants. In this regard, naturally-occurring chiral bioresources and semi-synthetic derivatives are promising to afford inexpensive, renewable, and environmentally friendly, and greener chirality inducible scaffolds.…”