Title: Photoinduced Bending Behavior of Crosslinked Azobenzene Liquid-Crystalline Polymer Films with a Poly(oxyethylene) Backbone

Author: Jiu-an Lv, Weiru Wang, Jixiang Xu, Tomiki Ikeda, Yanlei Yu*

Journal: Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2014, 35(14), 1266–1272

Abstract:

Cross-linked azobenzene liquid-crystalline polymer films with a poly(oxyethylene) backbone are synthesized by photoinitiated cationic copolymerization. Azobenzene moieties in the film surface toward the light source are simultaneously photoaligned during photopolymerization with unpolarized 436 nm light and thus form a splayed alignment in the whole film. The prepared films show reversible photoinduced bending behavior with opposite bending directions when different surfaces of one film face to ultraviolet light irradiation.

Fulltext Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/marc.201400112

We have demonstrated that the azobenzene CLCP films with the poly(oxyethylene) backbone can be prepared by in situ long-wavelength photoinitiated cationic polymerization, in which the radical photoinitiator together with the cationic initiator initiates the free-radical-promoted cationic polymerization. Azobenzene moieties in the film surface toward the light source are simultaneously photoaligned during photopolymerization with unpolarized 436 nm light and thus form a splayed alignment in the whole film. The prepared films show reversible photoinduced bending behavior with opposite bending directions when different surfaces of the film face to ultraviolet light irradiation.