Enhanced photochemical‐shift of reflection band from an inverse opal film based on larger birefringent polymer liquid crystals: Effect of tolane group on the photochemical shift behavior |
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| Authors: | Masaki Moritsugu Tomomi Shirota Shoichi Kubo Tomonari Ogata Osamu Sato Seiji Kurihara |
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| Institution: | 1. Innovative Collaboration Organization, Kumamoto University, 2‐39‐1 Kurokami, Kumamoto‐shi, Kumamoto 860‐8555, Japan;2. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2‐39‐1 Kurokami, Kumamoto‐shi, Kumamoto 860‐8555, Japan;3. Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, 2‐1‐1 Katahira, Aoba‐ku, Sendai‐shi, Miyagi 980‐8577, Japan;4. Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6‐1 Kasuga‐koen, Kasuga‐shi, Fukuoka 816‐8580, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Photo‐chemically tunable photonic band gap materials are prepared by infiltration of liquid crystal polymers having azobenzene groups into voids of SiO2 inverse opal films. Linearly polarized (LP) light irradiation results in transformation from a random to an anisotropic molecular orientation of azobenzene side chains in the voids of the SiO2 inverse opal film, leading to the reversible and stable shift of the reflection peak to longer wavelength more than 15 nm. To improve switching properties, we use copolymers of azobenzene monomer and tolane monomer, which have higher birefringence, as infiltration materials into the voids. The azobenzene‐tolane copolymers are found to show higher birefringence than azobenzene homopolymers by the LP light irradiation at higher temperature. Consequently, the reflection band of the SiO2 inverse opal film infiltrated with the azobenzene‐tolane copolymer can be shifted to longer wavelength region more than 55 nm by the irradiation of LP light. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 1981–1990, 2009 |
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| Keywords: | azo polymers liquid‐crystalline polymers (LCP) photochemistry |
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