DESIGN AND STUDY OF NEW AZOBENZENE LIQUID CRYSTAL/POLYMER MATERIALS

摘要

Discussion is presented on the use of the photoisomerization of azobenzene chromophore in the design and preparation of novel functional materials. The two systems reviewed are azobenzene polymer-stabilized liquid crystals and azobenzene elastomers. In the first case, a polymer network containing azobenzene moieties is used to optically induce and stabilize a long-range liquid crystal orientation without the need of treating the surfaces of the substrates. This optical and rubbing-free approach was applied to nematic and ferroelectric liquid crystals. In the second case, an azobenzene side-chain liquid crystalline polymer is grafted onto a styrene-butadiene-styrene triblock copolymer to yield a photoactive thermoplastic elastomer. Coupled mechanical and optical effects make possible the formation of diffraction gratings that may be useful for mechanically tunable optical devices.