Photo-responsive gels based on photo-dimerization reactions

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive soft materials that can respond to external stimuli such as temperature, light, pH, and chemicals have been intensively investigated in recent decades. Among various stimuli-responsive systems reported to date, light-responsive materials have attracted significant attention because of their beneficial properties, including high spatial and time resolutions, contactless manipulation, and non-invasiveness. In this topic, we briefly review our recent development of photoresponsive polymer gels based on photodimerization reactions. By introducing photo-dimerizable chromophores into polymer architectures, novel dynamic functions can be imparted to polymer gels such as photo-induced dynamic viscoelastic changes and photo-healing ability.