Photo-orientation of azobenzene-containing liquid-crystalline materials by means of domain structure rearrangement

Alexey V. Bogdanov*, Andrey Kh Vorobiev

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A novel mechanism of photo-orientation of azobenzene-containing liquid-crystalline materials is proposed. This mechanism is based on the notion of photochemically induced domain rearrangement driven by destabilization of liquid-crystalline phase in light absorbing domains due to photochemical formation of non-mesogenic cis-azobenzene moieties. The experimental evidence of photoinduced movement of a domain boundary is presented, and the velocity of this movement is measured. A mathematical model for photo-orientation of a polydomain azobenzene-containing material is formulated. The values of model parameters for a liquid-crystalline azopolymer have been measured in separate experiments. Theoretical predictions demonstrate quantitative agreement with the experimental observations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)13936-13945
Number of pages10
JournalJournal Of Physical Chemistry B
Volume117
Issue number44
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 Nov 2013
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

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