Optical and Physical Applications of Photocontrollable Materials: Azobenzene-Containing and Liquid Crystalline Polymers

Abstract

Photocontrol of molecular alignment is an exceptionally-intelligent and useful strategy. It enables us to control optical coefficients, peripheral molecular alignments, surface relief structure, and actuation of substances by means of photoirradiation. Azobenzene-containing polymers and functionalized liquid crystalline polymers are well-known photocontrollable materials. In this paper, we introduce recent applications of these materials in the fields of mechanics, self-organized structuring, mass transport, optics, and photonics. The concepts in each application are explained based on the mechanisms of photocontrol. The interesting natures of the photocontrollable materials and the conceptual applications will stimulate novel ideas for future research and development in this field.

Design of blue fluorescence emitter star-shaped macromolecules based on pyrene and anthracene

“…[9,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Materials possessing photochromic groups have been widely investigated for potential applications in optical technologies due to their reversible or permanent photochemical structuring abilities. [23][24][25][26][27] …”

Light-triggered enhancement of mechanical properties and healing effect in azobenzene-based polymer films

“…Polymer films with more than 65% azobenzene loading were too brittle to be suitable for nanoindentation experiments. The brittleness of the polymers with high azobenzene loadings is thought to reflect their liquid-crystalline behaviour [11,21,22].…”

Reversible Shaping of Microwells by Polarized Light Irradiation

“…In recent years, the ability to pattern large areas of stimuliresponsive materials at the micro-and nanoscale has opened the opportunity to engineer surface structures and trigger peculiar properties such as complex optical functionalities [1] or surface properties [2] by light-matter interactions. Over the last two decades, the progress on micro-and nanoscale research has enabled the development of several patterning techniques, including soft lithography [3], nanoimprint lithography [4], interference lithography, and advanced photo lithography [5].…”