偶氮液晶在光学材料中的应用进展

偶氮液晶是一类分子中含有偶氮苯结构的液晶,其偶氮基团在光照射下,能发生可逆的顺反异构反应。由于偶氮苯的顺式结构不能形成稳定的液晶相,因此,偶氮液晶在具有向列液晶温敏性质的同时,也具有特有的光敏性质,其相变与分子取向能够通过光照进行控制。这种特性使得偶氮液晶在光学功能材料方面具有广泛的应用。本文介绍了偶氮液晶的基本特性,结合作者自身的研究工作阐述了其在光学材料应用方面的研究进展。     

含对甲氧基苯氧羰基偶氮苯基团的侧链液晶高分子的光致变色 …

研究了含对甲氧基苯氧羰基偶氮苯基团的甲基丙烯酸酯单体及其与含对甲氧基苯氧羰基苯基团的甲基丙烯酸酯单体的共聚物的氯仿溶液,二甲基甲酰胺溶液和共聚物薄膜在紫外光诱导下的光导构化及热回复异构化行为。结果表明,它们在紫外光诱导下均能发生光致变色现象,且介质对其光致鸾以行为起决定作用。     

室温光致形变主链型交联液晶高分子纤维执行器

将分别含有偶氮苯和苯甲酸苯酯的2种液晶单体与伯胺进行迈克尔加成反应,得到分子量可控的主链型液晶低聚物.利用先熔融提拉、后自由基聚合的方法将低聚物制备成交联液晶高分子纤维.液晶单体与伯胺之间的扩链反应有效地降低了高分子网络的交联密度,进而降低纤维的玻璃化转变温度.同时,这种先拉伸、再聚合的方式将纤维的取向与交联过程分开,保证了纤维中的液晶基元沿拉伸方向呈规整排列.因此,取向后的交联液晶高分子纤维可在室温下实现可逆光致弯曲形变,其最大弯曲角度接近60°,且弯曲方向可以通过改变光照方向进行调控.这种形变幅度大、方向可控的主链型交联液晶高分子纤维有望推动光响应柔性执行器等领域的发展.     

光致形变液晶高分子

交联液晶高分子兼具液晶的各向异性和高分子网络的弹性,并且具有优异的分子协同作用.在交联液晶高分子中引入光响应基团,例如偶氮苯后,即可赋予其光致形变性能,利用分子协同作用可以将光化学反应引起的分子结构变化放大为宏观形变,从而将光能直接转化成机械能.通过合理的分子结构和取向设计可以使液晶高分子产生诸如伸缩、弯曲、扭曲、振动等多种形式的光致形变,并用于各类光控柔性执行器件的构筑,在人工肌肉、微型机器人、微量液体操控等领域呈现出独特的优势和广阔的应用前景.本文总结和评述了光致形变液晶高分子的研究,包括材料结构对光致形变性能的影响、新型可加工光致形变材料的研究、利用可见光和近红外光触发形变的策略,以及光致形变液晶高分子微执行器在微量液体操控中的应用,最后展望了该领域的发展方向.     

含偶氮基团的侧链液晶高分子的研究进展

综述了含偶氮基团的侧链液晶高分子的制备方法及其在可逆光信息存储与非线性光学领域的应用。     

含偶氮基团的聚丙烯酸酯型功能侧链液晶高分子的性能及其应用前景

综述了基于具光致双折射和光存储性质的偶氮功能基团的新型功能性侧链液晶聚丙烯酸酯的液晶性质、光电性质及应用前景.指出该类聚合物是一类非常重要的非线性光学材料 ,一般显示热致性向列型或近晶型液晶相, 液晶相转变温度和液晶态温度范围随链结构的不同发生显著变化,具有较短的电场及光场响应时间.此类材料在不断开发研究下可望用作长久的高对比度的光学信息储存材料.     

基于偶氮液晶的PDLC膜光调制研究

采用聚苯乙烯和光敏混合向列液晶(5CB＋BMAB), 通过溶剂引发相分离制备了聚合物分散液晶膜(PDLC). 利用偶氮液晶的光致相变, 实现了聚合物分散液晶薄膜的光控开关. 实验结果表明, 在PDLC膜内部液晶微球中, 液晶分子呈双极形分布. 其光控温度区间19～36 ℃之间. 以360 nm附近紫外光照射之后, PDLC膜的最大透光率从6%增加到93%. 在相同的工作距离下, 光调制的时间与PDLC膜内部微孔直径相关. 在相同的液晶浓度下, 直径越小, 调制时间越长.     

含对硝基偶所苯基团的侧链液晶高分子的合成及其光致变色性能研究

报道了新型的含对硝基偶氮苯基团的甲基丙烯酸酯单体与含介晶基团的甲基丙烯酸酯单体扔合成及其自由基共聚合，利用＾１Ｈ－ＮＭＲ，ＩＲ，ＵＶ－Ｖｉｓ，ＧＰＣ元素分析，ＤＴＡ及ＰＯＭ等手段对偶氮单体和聚合物进行了结构表征。证明两种单体的共聚合产物为无规共聚物，而且各聚合物在加热过程中均显示出明显的向列相液晶织构。     

光致变形型高分子材料

光致变形型高分子材料以光为激发源,在没有机械接触的情况下,能够快速改变尺寸和形状。本文介绍了光致变形的高分子凝胶、无定形高分子、液晶弹性体和光致形状记忆高分子材料,并对各种材料的光致变形机理进行解释。无定形高分子的光致变形较小,目前研究重点是具有各向异性的液晶弹性体。文中着重介绍了具有偶氮苯介晶基元的液晶弹性体的光致变形研究,在光照下这类材料只要有1%的偶氮苯介晶基元发生顺反异构,就会发生光致变形。     

偶氮苯高分子的光致可逆固液转变

偶氮苯化合物是一种极具吸引力以及较为常用的光响应材料,本文主要介绍偶氮苯的光响应性质以及一些偶氮苯高分子的合成方法,解析光化学反应导致偶氮苯高分子固液转变的机理,并介绍其在粘结性材料、光致动器、光致热导开关器件及非热纳米压印中的应用。     

Synthesis and characterisation of reactive liquid crystals containing an azo group

A new series of liquid crystal (LC) monomers – not only contain a double bond but also contain an azo group – were designed and synthesised. The length of side groups in the LC monomers containing azobenzene ester varied from 1 to 2 methylene units, and the length of the substituted groups in the main chain varied from 1 to 3 methylene units. The molecular structures of the intermediates and target compounds were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared, ultraviolet and visible spectrum and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The thermal phase behaviour of the LC monomers was investigated by polar optical microscopy coupled with hot stage and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In this paper, the effect on the LC zone with the substituents were investigated, and with the increased methylene of main chain, the melting point and the phase transition temperature of the substance will be lowered and LC regions will be narrower.     

Synthesis and photochemistry of side-chain liquid crystal polymers based on cinnamate esters

The syntheses of three methacrylate monomers with cinnamate ester side-chains and of a further monomer with a corresponding cinnamide side-chain are described. Two of the monomers, with isomeric structures, were thermotropic liquid crystals. Although the clearing points were very similar the crystal melting points differed by 8°C. One compound also exhibited a monotropic smectic phase, behavior not shown by its isomer. The other two monomers were not liquid crystalline. The monomers were polymerized by free radical polymerization, both as homopolymers and as copolymers with methyl methacrylate. In the case of one of the mesogenic ester monomers, copolymers with a cyanophenyl benzoate monomer were also prepared. Three of the four monomers formed thermotropic liquid crystalline homopolymers and the copolymers with the benzoate monomer were also liquid crystalline. The monomers were considered as photoactive components of polymeric liquid crystals. As a preliminary investigation of their photochemistry, copolymers with methyl methacrylate were prepared and irradiated in solution with a broad-band source. Under these conditions two of the materials show a facile photo-Fries rearrangement of the aryl cinnamate ester group. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis and characterization of halogen-containing ferroelectric liquid crystals and side chain liquid crystalline polymers

A new series of ferroelectric liquid crystals and side chain liquid crystalline polymers based on halogen-containing chiral centres has been synthesized. Chemical structures were analysed by NMR. Liquid crystal phases were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, optical polarizing microscopy, and X-ray diffractometry. The behaviour of the liquid crystalline phases was investigated as a function of spacer units and differing terminal asymmetric moieties. It was found that phase transition temperatures decreased with increasing length of the oligooxyethylene spacer unit. Differing terminal asymmetric moieties led to differing mesophase phenomena. Furthermore, a wide temperature range (including room temperature) of a chiral smectic C phase was achieved.     

Synthesis and characterization of chiral azo LCPs with optical properties

ABSTRACT

In this study, we designed, synthesised and characterised two series of cholesteric liquid crystal polymers, QP series and ZP series. With polymethylhydrosiloxane as the main chain, QP series were synthesised by copolymerisation between the monomer M₁ containing a cholesteryl mesogenic unit and the monomer M₂ with a hydroxyl. ZP series, meanwhile, were synthesised by esterification between QP series members and the monomer M₃, a carboxylic acid with an azo mesogenic unit. We characterised chemical structures of all the monomers and polymers by FT-IR and ¹H-NMR, which proved that the target monomers and polymers had been obtained. We observed dramatic colour changes after the introduction of monomer M₃ and Grandjean textures from both QP series and ZP series using POM. In addition, strong selective reflection could be observed as well. Then, we characterised the thermal properties of polymers by DSC, TGA and XRD to explore their phase transition behaviours further. Their photoresponsive and photochromic properties were characterised by UV-Vis spectrum.     

Silicon‐containing azo polymers with paired mesogens and their applications to optical memory media

We synthesized a novel photoresponsive monomer, silicon‐containing azo monomer with paired mesogens in the side chain, by reacting 3‐methacryloxypropylmethyldichlorosilane with 2‐[2‐(4‐cyano‐azobenzene‐4′‐oxy)ethylene‐oxy]ethyl alcohol, a mesogenic group. Corresponding homopolymer and copolymers with methyl methacrylate were generated via radical polymerization with AIBN as a radical initiator. Investigations of their thermal properties and optical textures confirmed the monomer and the homopolymer have smectic structures. Homo‐ and copolymer films showed high potential as reversible data recording media via photoinduced alignment of azobenzene groups with irradiation of a linearly or circularly polarized light. Out of all the samples, the copolymer films with high azo dye contents showed the best resolution in the recorded data as well as the fastest response to a pump beam due to large optical birefringence induced in a write‐in process. Strong dependence of the stability of the data stored in the films on the glass transition temperature of the polymers was also observed. In addition, high‐quality holographic grating patterns were inscribed even on the copolymer film with azo molar content of only 7.0% using a modified two‐wave mixing technique. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 6734–6745, 2008     

Synthesis and properties of reactive liquid crystal monomers and side-chain liquid crystalline polymers

Two nematic liquid crystal (LC) monomers containing double bonds in the side chain were designed and synthesised. Length of the side groups varied from 1 to 2 methylene units. The side-chain polymers were synthesised by hydrosilylation reaction. The molecular structures of the intermediates and the LC monomers were characterised by Fourier transform infrared, elemental analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The thermal phase behaviour of the monomers and polymers were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and polar optical microscopy coupled with hot stage. The LC monomers showed only one nematic mesophase in the cooling process. And, the two polymers exhibit an enantiotroppic nematic mesophase either in the heating or in the cooling process.     

Time‐dependent deformation of structurally chiral polymer networks in stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals

Polymerization of crosslinkable liquid crystal monomers in chiral liquid crystalline media stabilizes the phase and enables distinct electro‐optic properties relative to small‐molecule analogs. Particularly interesting are cases where the polymerization forms a crosslinked polymer network that maintains a “structural” chirality. Recent reports have employed this methodology to realize a diverse set of electro‐optic responses in polymer stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals (PSCLCs) including reflection bandwidth broadening, reflection wavelength tuning, and dynamic scattering modes. It has been proposed that the mechanism at the root of these electro‐optic responses is an ion‐mediated, electromechanical deformation of the stabilizing and structurally chiral polymer network. In an effort to better understand the nature of these deformations, here we have characterized the electro‐optic response of PSCLCs with different polymer concentrations and crosslink densities. The dynamic response of PSCLCs to electric fields exhibits a time‐dependent behavior reminiscent of the creep of polymeric materials to mechanical deformations. The electro‐optic response can be described as the superposition of two contributions: the fast deformation of a relatively soft component of the polymer network (1–2 s) and the slower (10–20 s) deformation of a harder component. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 1087–1093     

Impact of co-doping concentration in copolymer network liquid crystals

ABSTRACT

The impact of varying the co-doping concentration of a mesogenic and a non-mesogenic monomer in the reactive mixtures used to create a copolymer network LCs was investigated. Use of copolymer has been found to improve the response properties in the obtained liquid crystal composites. The polymer network in the studied copolymer network LCs was examined by scanning electron microscopy and the response times in various samples were investigated. Samples were prepared with various reactive mixtures, each of which had a constant concentration of mesogenic monomer, various concentrations of non-mesogenic monomer, and the same amount of photoinitiator. These reactive mixtures were filled in home assembled test cells with planar alignment and then exposed to UV light. With increasing concentration of the non-mesogenic monomer, the response properties of the resulting copolymer network LC were improved. Usually, if the overall polymer content in a polymer network LC is increased, the threshold voltage is also increased. However, both threshold voltages and response times were lowered and the response properties were thus improved in the studied copolymer network LCs. This unexpected behavior could be traced back to inducing a grainy polymer morphology of the copolymer network by using a non-mesogenic monomer.     

Surface-relief-grating formation behavior of two hyperbranched azo polymers

In this work,surface-relief-grating formation behavior was studied by using two hyperbranched azo polymers.The hyperbranched polymers containing pseudo-stilbene type azo chromophores throughout the hyperbranched structure were synthesized by step-growth polycondensation of AB₂ type monomers.The AB₂ monomer,4-（4’-（bis（2-chloroethyl）amino）-phenylazo） benzoic acid（BAA）,was prepared through azo-coupling reaction between N,N’-bis（2-chloroethyl）aniline and 4- aminobenzenic acid.The another AB₂ monomer,4-（4’-（bis（2-chloroethyl）amino）phenylazo）-3-nitro-benzoic acid（BANA）, was prepared through azo-coupling reaction between N,N-bis（2-chloroethyl）aniline and 3-nitro-4-aminobenzcnic acid.The hyperbranched polymers（PBAA and PBANA） were prepared through nucleophilic substitution reaction of BAA and BANA, respectively.The polymers synthesized were characterized by using spectroscopic methods and thermal analysis.The photoinduced dichroism and photo-induced surface-relief-grating（SRG） formation of the hyperbranched polymers were investigated upon irradiation with Ar⁺ laser at 488 nm.PBAA shows typical photoinduced dichroism SRG formation behavior.On the contrary,PBANA does not show the photoresponsive properties.The results indicate that the nitro at the ortho position of azo group of PBANA shows the effect of inhibiting the photoinduced variations.The effect can be attributed to the blockage of the trans-cis isomerization of the azobenzene moieties by the steric hindrance.     

The effect of voltage controlled orientation order of liquid crystals in non-acrylic polymer dispersed liquid crystals films

The nematic liquid crystals (LCs) are randomly dispersed material with random orientation order in polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films. The LCs change their orientation from random to vertical as electric field is applied. This transformation of orientation order of nematic liquid crystals in the PDLC films is controlled by many factors operating simultaneously. For instance, some factors like the internal forces of attractions among the neighboring LC molecules, anchoring with polymeric matrix, ITO glass boundaries, and chemical structures of the materials are less studied. The learning of extent of vertical orientation of liquid crystal droplets in an electric field is essential to attain optimum electro optical properties of PDLCs. In this finding, bipolar and radial LCs droplets with random orientation have been observed in non-acrylic polymeric media. It is learned that with small increase of contents of external material, the extent of vertical orientation has been varied intensely. The extent of vertical orientation of LCs molecules increases as the contents of external non-acrylic polymeric material decreased. For this study, the orientations of LCs with respect to material type/contents, external applied force, and restoration of electric filed as hysteresis have been studied in details.