Elastic Properties of Photoswitchable Azobenzene Polymers from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

摘要

Nanomechanical devices or molecular machines will, for a broad range of applications, most likely be powered by light or other kinds of electromagnetic radiation. The major reasons are ease of addressability, picosecond reaction times to external stimuli, and compatibility with a broad range of ambient substances, such as solvents, electrolytes, or gases. Azobenzene is a well-studied photoactive system, which can be photoswitched selectively from an extended trans to a more compact cis conformation by using light of wavelength 365 nm, whereas the reverse cis-to-trans isomerization is induced by light of wavelength 420 nm (Figure 1 a). Many processes, such as light-driven ion transport through biological membranes, can be steered by conformational switching of azobenzene chromophores.