PA48 Photomobile process of crosslinked azobenzene liquid-crystalline polymers at cryogenic conditions

Abstract

We evaluated photoinduced bending behavior of crosslinked azobenzene liquid-crystalline polymer films at 5 K-340 K. Homogeneous films and polydomain films showed reversible bending motions even at 5 K. Additionally, the bending axis of polydomain films could be controlled by altering the polarization direction of actinic light. This result indicates that the bending motions of crosslinked azobenzene liquid-crystalline polymer films are induced at cryogenic temperatures due to the change in alignment of mesogens, which is caused by the photoisomerization of azobenzene.