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An Azoester-containing Photoresponsive Linear Liquid Crystal Polymer with Good Mesophase Stability

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Abstract

Photoresponsive linear liquid crystal polymers (LLCPs) are attractive because of the excellent stimuli-responsibility and the good processability. In this study, a new photoresponsive LLCP containing azoester (PC11AE6) with good mesophase stability was synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization. By introducing photoresponsive azoester mesogenic unit, which has high rigidity and a large length-diameter ratio, the resultant polymer possesses a broad mesophase temperature interval (isotropic temperature = 180 °C). A study on mesophase by 2D-wide angle X-ray diffraction indicated that the mesogens were orientated spontaneously into smectic A phase after annealing. The orientated films and fibres exhibited macroscopic, rapid and reversible deformations under light irradiation as a result of the photoisomerization of azoester as confirmed by UV-Vis absorption spectrophotometry. We anticipate that this work provides a strategy for preparing LLCP with a broad mesophase temperature range, which is positive for potential applications.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21734003, 51573029, and 51721002), Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No. 17ZR1440100), and Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (No. 2017-01-07-00-07-E00027).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Shu-Qiang Han, Ying-Ying Chen, Bo Xu, Jia Wei & Yan-Lei Yu

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  1. Shu-Qiang Han
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  2. Ying-Ying Chen
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  3. Bo Xu
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  4. Jia Wei
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  5. Yan-Lei Yu
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Correspondence to Jia Wei.

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An azoester-containing photoresponsive linear liquid crystal polymer with good mesophase stability

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Han, SQ., Chen, YY., Xu, B. et al. An Azoester-containing Photoresponsive Linear Liquid Crystal Polymer with Good Mesophase Stability. Chin J Polym Sci 38, 806–813 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-020-2383-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-020-2383-0

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