Photoresponsiveness and Reprocessability of Liquid-Crystalline Polymer Materials Crosslinked by Hydrogen Bonding

Abstract

Crosslinked liquid-crystalline polymers (CLCPs) containing azobenzene moieties are advantageous in fabrication of light-driven soft actuators because of their remote-controllability. However, CLCPs are insoluble because they form stable network structures by covalent bonds. Thus, the materials are not suitable for molding. In this study, we developed novel liquid-crystalline photomobile materials crosslinked by hydrogen bonding to improve their reprocessability. The resulting films showed photoinduced deformation reversibly upon irradiation with UV and visible light. This indicates that the photomobile materials we fabricated exhibit reversible photoresponsive properties and moldability.