Abstract
This study describes photoresponsive behavior of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) liquid crystal (LC) in bulk and in guest-host systems. The TFF-based LC was mixed with 4'-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) at a concentration of 2 mol%. The mixture was put into a glass cell (cell gap = 10 μm), which had been coated with poly(vinyl alcohol) and rubbed to align mesogen. The cell was annealed at a temperature just below clearing temperature to yield a monodomain of N phase. The cell was irradiated at 436 nm from a high-pressure mercury lamp and the intensity of a probe light at 633 nm from a He-Ne laser transmitted through a pair of crossed polarizers, with the cell between them, was measured with a photodiode. When the sample was irradiated in LC phase, the transmittance of the probe light changed immediately. The transmittance change might be induced by the change in the birefringence of the sample.
