Title: Directed Bending of a Polymer Film by Light

Author: Yanlei Yu, Makoto Nakano, Tomiki Ikeda*

Journal: Nature, 2003, 425, 145. (Nature Top Ten, No. 2)

Abstract: 

Polymer solutions and solids that contain light-sensitive molecules can undergo photo-contraction, whereby light energy is converted into mechanical energy. Here we show that a single film of a liquid-crystal network containing an azobenzene chromophore can be repeatedly and precisely bent along any chosen direction by using linearly polarized light. This striking photomechanical effect results from a photoselective volume contraction and may be useful in the development of high-speed actuators for microscale or nanoscale applications, for example in microrobots in medicine or optical microtweezers.

论文链接：https://www.nature.com/articles/425145a

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