Langmuir-Blodgett Film Formation and Photoisomerization of Ionic Liquid Crystalline Polymer with Azobenzene Pendant Groups

Abstract

  An ionic liquid crystalline polymer (ILCP) with photoactive azobenzene pendant groups was deposited as a multilayered Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film. The layer structure and the orientation of the azobenzene pendant groups in the LB film were drastically changed upon irradiation with UV and visible lights. The layer order in the LB film was completely disturbed by UV light irradiation, and rebuild by visible light irradiation. Homeotropic molecular alignment with the consequent double layered structure is consistent with that of a smectic A liquid crystalline phase of ILCP.