Back to Search Start Over

Photosensitive Bent-Core Liquid Crystals with Laterally Substituted Azobenzene Unit

Authors :
Diana Jágerová
Michal Šmahel
Anna Poryvai
Jan Macháček
Vladimíra Novotná
Michal Kohout
Source :
Crystals, Vol 11, Iss 10, p 1265 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Photosensitive liquid crystals represent an important class of functional materials that experience rapid development. Hereby, we present novel bent-core liquid crystals bearing a lateral substitution on the central core and in the vicinity of the photosensitive unit—an azo group. The azo group enables fast (E)-to-(Z)-isomerization upon irradiation with UV-light and visible light, while the substitution facilitates the high stability of the photochemically formed (Z)-isomer. The effectiveness of the irradiation and the composition of photostationary states was determined by UV/Vis and 1H NMR spectroscopy. A nematic phase formed by the materials was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and optical polarizing microscopy. We show that the materials easily change their relative configuration of the N=N double bond not only in solution, but also in the mesophase, which leads to fast isothermal phase transition from the nematic phase to isotropic liquid.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20734352
Volume :
11
Issue :
10
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Crystals
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.6caf032b66ec47789ce425068137c6d1
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11101265