Synthesis and photoinduced memory effect of poly[2-N-carbazolylethyl acrylate-co-2-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyloxy) ethyl methacrylate]

Copolymers containing an intramolecular electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex were synthesized by free radical copolymerization of 2-N-carbazolylethyl acrylate and 2-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyloxy)ethyl methacrylate. Glass transition temperatures show a positive deviation from the weight-average values of copolymers, indicating the presence of the specific EDA interaction in copolymers in the solid state. Photoinduced “memory effect,” which is defined as the percentage of the difference of the surface potential given by corona charging before and after irradiation of light on polymer films, was 30% for the copolymer with 5 mol% of acceptor content. Memory effect increased to 70% for a 8 μm film by doping with 2 wt% of trichloroacetic acid (TCAA), and leveled off at 5 wt% of TCAA content. Memory effect was also enhanced by increasing the thickness of polymer films and irradiation time. The largest value of memory effect (85%) was obtained from the film of the copolymer with 5 mol% acceptor content doped with 1 wt% TCAA and with thickness larger than 14 μm.